Fumikomi,fumikomi, fumikomi... one of the hardest things in kendo. As you already know, I’m a newbie, so, for me, everything is difficult, but, at this moment, fumikomi is the most hardest thing I’m trying in kendo. When I look at my fellows I find this fumikomi stomp so beautiful. It is such an elegant, hard and straight movement. But when I try it, well... I keep trying because it just s*cks. This is my main difficulty in kendo, but I think it is a little better now that I think less about it.
One of the things that intrigues me the most is the fact that I know all the “theory” about fumikomi. I know what it is and how it should be performed “step by step” but, when doing it, it never comes out like it should... I believe, and I heard from many kendoka, that fumikomi is something hard to learn and that many people has difficulties with it for a long time. So, I decided to write this post about fumikomi based on things that I know and that I read about the subject believing that it could be helpful for those who, unlike me, have good capability to apply theory to practice ;).
What is fumikomi?
It is a way of reaching your opponent in a single step by performing a forwards jump. By doing this, the front feet, that hits the floor, makes a stomp noise.
Looks easy! (Innocence) How is it performed?
Well, here are some tips that I collected from books and from my Sensei and Senpai:
- Avoid lifting your right foot too high. Don’t raise too high, just the sufficient to take it from the floor.
- Don’t stomp the floor with your heel. When moving forward your right foot must be parallel to the ground and you must advance with you right knee, not just your foot.
- Don’t try to make a big noisy stomp. The goal is to achieve your opponent with one step. This is a very useful tip. I started to notice some improvement in my fumikomi since one of my peers told me this. By knowing the aim of this action you avoid trying to “just hit hard on the floor” which is a common mistake (I was also commiting).
- “Forget your arms!” This is one thing my Senpai keeps yelling at me. He says that, if I keep thinking in synchronize my arms with the stomp, I won’t be able to do it right. He also says that I should just think about the foot and forget the arms because the natural tendency is, when I hit the floor, the arms will strike at the same time.
- Don’t bend forward. It is true that you want to strike forward but you should do it straight. In fact, if you bend you are putting your energy into your upper body. But to perform fumikomi, you should put your strength in your hips and left leg, because it’s the leg that pushes your body toward your opponent and not your arms. So, once again, forget your arms!
- Don’t think too much. One of the things my Sensei told me is that, knowing the theory is important and useful but we shouldn’t think too much about it. He said that, sometimes, it’s easier to learn by watching the others and repeat the same movements over and over. In fact, it’s just like we were copying their movements. So, in fumikomi, it may be better if not to get obsessed with all these procedures and, instead, just watch your experienced colleagues and try to do like them.
So, summarizing, to successfully fumikomi you should:
- Keep your left foot straight while you move your right knee towards keeping your right foot parallel to the ground.
- Keep your back straight and concentrate your strength on your lower body (hips and left leg) to give the impulse.
- Remenber you are aiming to achieve your opponent.
- Just do it as naturally as you can.
Well, I will continuing with my fumikomi training. Hope you have a nice week and train hard!
* Images taken from the internet.
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