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: Fumikomi. You need to step and make a sound by your right foot (left foot for jo-dan sometimes) when you attack. If you lack fumikomi when you attack, a strike is not counted a point because this footstep is one of the main components for getting a point.
However, most of kendo beginners have difficulty in doing fumikomi well when they begin practicing kendo. This step might be the most difficult part of kendo for some players.
Today, I would like to explain why fumikomi is so important in kendo as well as how to do fumikomi.
Why Fumikomi Is Important?
When you started practicing kendo, you probably practiced fumikomi many times. However, some people are not aware of the importance of fumikomi. There are two reasons why fumikomi is so important, so I’m going to explain to you the reasons why in detail:
First, as I pointed out in the introduction, fumikomi is one of the components for getting a point. The other components are striking correctly, and making a loud voice, or kiai. These three elements for getting a point are called “ki-ken-tai no itchi” in Japanese. Obviously, you need to step correctly in kendo matches because this foot step, fumikomi, is needed to get a point.
Second, you’re able to hit strongly when you step correctly. That is the reason why fumikomi is needed for getting a point. Without fumikomi, you still be able to strike, but it’s relatively not a strong attack compared to hitting with fumikomi. Also, striking speed is very different between striking with fumikomi and striking without fumikomi. You can swing the shinai fast and move fast if you step correctly which is effective for winning kendo matches. These are the main reasons why fumikomi is a important foot step when you do kendo. However, you might not be confident in doing fumikomi even though you recognize its importance, so I’m going to share how to practice fumikomi.
How To Do Fumikomi?
If you are not confident in doing fumikomi, I recommend that you practice it again and again. Once you master the foot step, your kendo is going to change greatly and improve for sure. To better help you, I’m going to explain how you can do fumikomi well.
First of all, the most important thing for stepping perfectly is standing straight and put your weight equally on your right foot and left foot. This is the first preparation for fumikomi. If your posture is not good, it’s difficult to move forward smoothly when you do fumikomi.
Next step is that you move forward by using your left foot to push the floor. Many people try to move their right foot to go forward, but you cannot jump to a far distance in this way. The important point is using your left foot at first. Imagine there is a puddle in front of you. You need to jump to avoid getting into the puddle and getting wet. If the puddle is quite small, you can cross it easily. But if the puddle is slightly bigger, it’s difficult to cross. When you’re caught in such a situation, you would push the ground and jump forward like a spring. That movement is very similar to how to do fumikomi.
Once you go forward by pushing the floor, the next step is stepping itself. Even though you step in your right foot, you don’t need to stomp on the floor strongly in order to make a loud sound. The right foot should land on the floor very naturally. You might not make a loud sound; however, this is not a big problem, since if your left foot pushed the floor when you move forward, your step should be perfect.
After your right foot lands on the floor, you should pull the left foot immidiately that remains behind. You need to pull the left foot quickly because you can go faster to the opponent after you attack by doing it. If the left foot pulling is slow, your attack is also going to be slow.
These are basic instructions for doing fumikomi correctly. The important points are: standing straight, pushing the floor by your left foot, stepping correctly and pulling the left foot quickly. This perfect fumikomi will help your attack more powerful and faster.
Thanks for reading this article! Fumikomi is very important for hitting correctly and strongly. If you’re working on hitting better, I recommend reviewing the footwork and improving the fumikomi movement. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me.
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