As a former foilist, one of the hardest habits to shake in kendo, is the concept of priority, i.e., that if an attack is initiated, one has to deal with it before attacking oneself. Now there are a number of ways to deal with it, parry-riposte, counter attack, distance, etc.
After class yesterday, at the "Sensei Circle", where we get pointers, announcements, acknowledgements, and a little pep talk, Stroud Sensei talked about holding center. I had keikoed with him earlier that evening and was throwing myself on his blade on more than one occasion. It suddenly struck me, as he was talking, that holding center is very much like the concept of "point in line."
Here's a picture. Fencer on the right has his arm extending, threatening the valid target. It is the fencing equivalent of the "holding center" in kendo.
Stroud Sensei said that his original kendo sensei was H. Umemoto sensei. Of Umemoto Sensei, Stoud Sensei, has said: "Umemoto sensei stressed strong basics and straight correct kendo. As a student of Mori Torao sensei, he provided me with very good fundamentals upon which to build my kendo skills. His comments about 'hitting straight, keeping center, and good footwork' have served me well over the years."
At that moment, I realized that I had to redo my game. As I earlier said, Shodan is not the end, but rather the end of the beginning. I have a plan, I'll let you know over the next several months how it works.
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