Maggies 2000 Kirikaeshi Workshop

Saturday, 23 February, 2008

http://www.justgiving.com/maggieskendo2008

2000 Kirikaeshi Report
University of Cambridge Kendo Society

Satoshi Yamazaki (2 Dan)
Daisy Chen (1 Dan)
Yue Miao (4 Kyu)
Ralph Eric DeSimone (4 Kyu)
Annelle DeSimone (4 Kyu)

Satoshi Yamazaki (2 Dan)

Large strikes, louder kiai…again and again.

Five members from Cambridge took part in Maggies 2000 Kirikaeshi Workshop on Saturday, 23 February 2008. Only eighteen people turned up in the end, so we all did more than 100 sets of Kirikaeshi each. That's more than 2100 Men cuts, which took us over four hours to complete.

It was one of the hardest Kendo trainings I have ever experienced since I started Kendo four years ago. Many people could not lift up their arms above their head after the first 1000 sets of Kirikaeshi. Some even lost their Kiai halfway through.

However, everyone from Cambridge – Daisy, Miao, Erik and Annelle – did very well. Daisy and Miao have practiced Kendo for two and a half years. Erik and Annelle only started Kendo five months ago and did not have Bogu at the time of this Kirikaeshi Workshop.

Both Erik and Annelle's Kirikaeshi improved a lot, especially after the first 1000. They kept their loud Kiai and the cuts became sharper and more relaxed over time. Daisy and Miao also did extremely well. Not only did they keep up with everyone else, their Kiai became louder and louder. I was proud to see that they continued to improve their Kendo throughout the Keiko and managed to make the most of this intense training

I started off with one of my spare lighter Shinai but it did not feel quite right in my hands. So I soon changed to my favourite heavier Shinai. However, even with my best Shinai, it was hard to keep the motivation high. Thus, I started setting targets for myself:
“Sharper cuts.”
“Better Fumikomi.”
“Stronger Tai-atari.”
And most importantly, “Louder Kiai” to keep me going.

I kept hearing the voice of Matsumoto Sensei (GB National Kendo Coach, 7 Dan) in my mind:
"Louder Kiai!"
"One Breath!" (for all 21 cuts)
"Create Warmth!" (Create energy from nothing)
These phrases were repeated over and over again, even though Matsumoto Sensei was not there to watch that day.

During the second half, I could not think about anything. I felt myself losing balance several times after some of the Kirikaeshi sets. But during each and every Kirikaeshi, I put in everything I had left in me. My own Kiai was the only thing that kept me going.

I had to roll off the bed on Sunday morning because I just could not move my body. It ached everywhere and I could not lift up my arms for two days. Nevertheless, Maggies 2000 Kirikaeshi Workshop really was an amazing experience. It was not about winning against an opponent. Simply 4 hours of Keiko against yourself: “Kiai, motivation and not giving up.”

Annelle and Erik were asked to demonstrate their Kirikaeshi during our Monday Kendo session following the Kirikaeshi Workshop. It was obvious to everyone how much improvement they had made over the weekend. Our Dojo leader, Frank Stajano Sensei (3 Dan) was so impressed that he decided to let them wear Bogu from the following session.

Daisy Chen (1 Dan)

Daisy bows during the second half of 2000 kirikaeshi

For the first 1000, 15 of us were arranged into groups of three. One would either receive, attack or rest and the Motodachi rotated every 4 Kirikaeshi. Then we had a 10 minute break before the second round, by which time, 3 more Kendoka joined the 'Kirikaeshi army'.

For the second 1000, each paired up with someone as we normally do for Kihon practice and rotated to the left after every two Kirikaeshi. The worst position was at the top of the Motodachi line, because when you rotate, you became the Kakarite, and that means doing two Kirikaeshi in a row! The resting position was at the bottom of the Motodachi line, where one received four times in a row for the beginners.

I didn't expect the 2000 Kirikaeshi to be this tough, neither did I expect to learn and enjoy so much! By 5pm on that Saturday, my Gi and Kote were completely soaked, even the Men Himo was wet. My body still aches and no one can poke my arms without me screaming, but the joy and the proud feeling of “I cant believe I've done it” was above and beyond words!

It was not merely a task of swinging Shinai a few thousand times (well, for me, it was for the first 1000). But for the second part, each Kirikaeshi was a Kirikaeshi with proper Kiai, and proper Men. The energy I've drawn from my own Kiai and others' smiles and nods were incredible! When my arms got so tired that I could not lift the Shinai with them, my body naturally learned to do the Sayu Men with the back, and my Ki-Ken-Tai was improving.

I was really happy and proud that the five of us went and did it together, proud of Satoshi for doing each of his cut 100% from the beginning till the end, proud of Miao for keep on going despite the hardship, proud of Eric for doing 15% more Kirikaeshi than the rest of us, proud of Annelle for smiling through each of her Kirikaeshi. Thank you everyone.

Yue Miao (4 Kyu)

It was the toughest session I've ever been to. It wasn't only physically demanding, but more so mentally. I couldn't do as clean and fast cuts as Satoshi and Daisy, but I kept on telling myself I shouldn't give up midway, I shouldn't escape or find excuses. And a huge “Arigato” to Erik and Annelle for being there. Watching them doing Kirikaeshi, big, clean, with loud Kiai, in our Cambridge way really cleared my hesitation and moved me on. It was a well-worthy experience; I learned a lot from just simply doing Kirikaeshi again and again, and how much more there must be in Kendo that awaits me to find.

Ralph Erik DeSimone (4 Kyu)

Relax your upper body. I remember being told you do better Kendo when tired. I'm also pretty sure that I thought that was spin doctoring to make you feel better about being so tired. However, it really did seem much easier after I got too tired to be tense, that's when I realized I probably shouldn't have been that tense in the first place. I didn't even realize I WAS tense, until I was so tired I couldn't keep it up.

Kiai keeps you going. This is SO true. After about 40 or so, I had to do two Kirikaeshi in a row. I was dead and all I could do was build up a good Kiai and push past it.

Being in a group helps! I don't think I could have made it without seeing Satoshi, Daisy, and Miao every rotation. Satoshi was great, helping point out things I needed to fix, and the happiest part of the day was when Daisy said, "The next time you see me we'll be done!"

Annelle DeSimone (4 Kyu)

Naturally for me, having only begun last October, this was the most intense Kendo related experience I have ever had. It may have been the most physically demanding experience in my whole life, now that I think about it! Like Daisy said, I too didn't expect the 2000 Kirikaeshi to be this tough! Sunday morning found me unable to use my arms properly. As I told some of the others, I had to curl up into a ball and rock forward to get out of bed. So much as lifting my arm to turn off a light switch became quite the task. But from our experience, we've gained so much more than just sore muscles!

First of all, we were so proud to have been able to help out with such a wonderful charity! On top of that, we were able to accomplish our goal of 2000!!! I had that euphoric feeling that sweeps over when you overcome a such a challenge. As our counter announced that we had reached 1500, I remember thinking, "Ok, you CAN'T quit now!!!! We'll all get through this!!!! We'll MAKE our goal!!!!" It was sometime between 1000 to this point that I started to make sense out of some of the lessons we'd learned in class.

Since very early on, we'd learned the importance of Kiai. Prior to the Kirikaeshi event, I didn't fully understand it. Before, I would do it because I knew that successful Kendoka had instructed us to do so. I would think, "Why should I question this when it's worked so well for them?" But during this event, I found that a strong Kiai really makes you focus! And it doesn't do just that! As Satoshi said, sometimes your Kiai is the only thing that keeps you going! I found that the last few sets (where I was the most worn out and painful) were the ones where my Kiai was the strongest. I felt that I was able to draw energy from this. In addition to my own, I felt that I was able to draw energy off of my Motodachi's Kiai as well! The stronger, the better! It was no surprise that I felt more energy when my Motodachi would be Satoshi, Daisy, or Miao! Thanks, you guys! Some of the others would offer a good Kiai as well. This, coupled with words and gestures of encouragement really kept me going. I felt much less intimidated then. At first, Erik and I were the only non-Bogu individuals there, which made me really nervous. Kind words can indeed go a long way.

I also remembered the lesson that you do your best Kendo when you're tired. Before, I would think, "What? You're joking! Wouldn't you want to be fresh and on top of your game? How can you keep holding your Shinai at that point?" But again, this event corrected my thinking! Indeed, when you are more tired, you become more relaxed and your muscles are looser, making your cuts better, as Satoshi mentioned again in class today (at that point, I just couldn't afford to waste energy being tense).

Also, I actually had a small personal victory because just last Friday, I was complaining that I'm always hitting the Men-gane. The last few sets, I heard the unmistakable sound of hitting Men-buton a few times (well, once or twice at least).

It goes without saying that I still have so much more to learn, and that I have so much I need to polish. For that I'm so thankful that we had this learning experience and that the five of us got through it together. Thanks so much for this opportunity!!!

Non-armoured kendoka also performed 2000 kirikaeshi proudly!