Hello everyone!
Thank you for reading the following blog post! I'm Kota Suzuki from Japan. I've been practicing kendo since I was seven years old in Japan－I am currently 3rd Dan. Right now, I am studying abroad in the United States and regularly practice at the university kendo club here.
Today's topic: Fighting against tall players. You sometimes have to fight against players who are taller than you. It might be difficult to beat them because you are at risk to get hit from far distance. However, there are some tips in order to fight tall players effectively in kendo matches. Today, I'm going to give you three important points.
1. Use footwork
First, footwork is necessary to fight against tall players. As I mentioned in the introduction, tall players are able to attack from far distance even thought you cannot attack from the distance. In addition, it is going to be harder to win if your opponent have more power than you. Therefore, taller players have generally more advantages than shorter players if you fight against them in the usual way.
Footwork is the best tip to avoid getting hit from tall players because it becomes much more difficult to target hitting points once you are moving with footwork instead of stopping. It doesn't mean you should escape from your opponent, but you should not fight against tall players without any tips. Footwork helps you fight more effectively and it leads to a great chance.
2. Be careful about distance
What you should be careful about fighting against tall players is distance from your opponent. The distance you can attack is different from the distance your opponent attacks. Taller players have a chance to hit from far away that might be impossible for you to attack. Many people don't pay much attention to the difference, that often cause losing a point in kendo matches.
The tip for the distance problem is that you should control the distance by yourself. The main idea is that you should not stop in the distance your opponent will be able to hit easily. You can stay in a little far distance as well as very close distance (tsubazeriai). By using the two distance effectively, tall players cannot attack easily because the distance is not good enough for them to attack.
3. Be patient until a chance
Finally, you should be patient until a chance is coming. It is generally difficult to get a point from a tall player, so you should keep controling the distance until a chance that you can attack. Your opponent should be frustrated if they cannot fully attack for a long time because of the distance. Once they are in such a feeling, they might lack concentration and you will get a chance.
This is the basic strategy against taller players than you, but it doesn't mean you only wait for a chance coming. Unless you try to control the distance and make a battle easy for you, you don't have any opportunity during a match because tall players don't have any risk in the situation. You should work hard in order to avoid getting hit from your opponent.
If you would like to learn more about how to fight against tall players, you can watch this video. I've added English subtitles on this video, so I hope you can enjoy watching!
Thank you for reading this blog post! You will have to fight against tall players in actual matches, so I recommend you practicing with tall players in usual practice in dojo or kendo clubs. And you can try these three tips that I showed you today. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me! I'm happy to answer your questions.
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