Kihon Kata

...to use the full name, which nobody from the outside of japan can ever remember of:


"Bokuto Ni Yoru Kendo Kihon-waza Keiko-ho"


Duh, as everyone does, we´ll stay with the term Kihon Kata.

Ok,
the German Kendo federation decided to have the Kihon Kata added to the kyu-exam content (in Germany you have to run through all 6 kyu grades) from 2016 on.
As the Kihon Kata is relatively new here in Germany, we had an seminar this weekend for all current kyu examiners and those who want to become one.

As most of us are doing Nihon Kendo Kata on a regular basis, the handling of the bokuto was no problem.
Also the single techniques are basically all "well" known.
What we had to learn were "merely" the sequences by itself.

To be Honest, the hardest part for me is to remember the order of the katas by itself, luckily each kata will be announced prior to performing it, hooray!

The concept behind these katas is, to teach various techniques to the beginners by the sword (bokuto).
Many people think it´s rather arguable to expect the beginners, who barely can handle the shinai, to additionally get used to handle the bokuto in a proper way.
One the one side, yes, it can be a bit too much for some people.
But on the other side, it is absolutely important to teach that kendo is based on actual swords fighting and the shinai is just an replacement for save training.
Otherwise it would obviously be called "shinaido" or "shinaijutsu".

Another important point for the beginners is, that due to the lesser complexity of the Kihon Kata compared to the Nihon Kendo Kata, the handling of the bokuto will be easier to learn and be something they are used to when learning the Nihon Kendo Kata.

In conclusion, Kihon Kata is actually really helpful (for the beginners) for getting used to the bokuto/katana, the waza in kendo and proper maai.

Unfortunately, I don´t see any Interest among our advanced kenshi and Dan holders on practicing the Kihon Kata.
Which is really a pity.
I mean, at least the proper execution of the kaeshi and nuki Katas can be a real benefit for the shinai kendo. I rarely see people doing those waza in a proper manner during ji-geiko...

So,
please minna-san,
don´t skip the Kihon Kata!!