Congratulations to everyone who participated in yesterday’s SWORD Tournament! It was a great little tournament. Regrettably I wasn’t able to stay for the godo keiko afterward or attend the after party at Tremendous, but I’m confident a good time was had by all.
A few notes from the shinpan (referees) I think are worth passing along.
Going Out of Bounds – if two players are near the edge of the court start engaging in a shoving match to attempt to force jogai (stepping out of the court thus incurring a penalty), Miyagawa Sensei emphasized that yame (stop) should be called immediately. Your intent should be to win your match using your shinai, not by wrestling your opponent out of the court. That being said, if you push an opponent out as part of your follow-through after an attempted strike, your opponent will get a penalty.
Unrolling of Flags – for you shinpan out there – Kamata Sensei informed me that when I was shushin (head judge), I unfurled my flags before the fukushin had reached their positions. Shushin should wait until fukushin have turned around and are facing you before unfurling their flags.
Etiquette Note – When you have finished your matches for the day and are watching other matches, it is common to sit on the gymnasium floor. There’s nothing wrong with doing so, but there are a couple of things to think about. When you are sitting cross-legged on the floor, cover your feet with your hakama. During final matches, it is proper etiquette to sit in seiza. If you are not able to sit in seiza for a long period of time, head to the bleachers 🙂
Ippon Determinant – during one match between a ni-to and an itto player, the ni-to player scored a point with a men strike that seemed kind of shallow with the tip of his shinai just barely getting past the mengane. However, the itto player had leaned his head back to avoid the strike and subsequently tried to duck away from the strike. This was considered a good point not because of the strike itself, but because of the action of the receiver attempting to avoid it. Just something to think about.
Ki Ken Tai – there were many beautiful strikes that weren’t points because there was no kiai at all. Other times, the kiai came after the strike, as if the player was surprised their strike actually connected with the intended target.
Waza – if you do not intentionally incorporate waza into your regular keiko, dont’ expect it to suddenly manifest itself in shiai. Shiai is stressful and when stressed, players seem to revert to single strike techniques. I saw several players win points against stronger opponents simply by following up with a men after ai-kote. I also saw players fail to adjust their strategy after having their strikes (usually men or kote) blocked or parried the same way time after time.
At the Buzzer – right at the end of the last match of the team final, in the midst of the timekeeper calling time and shushin calling yame, there was a beautiful men strike from one player, who ultimately won the match. However the strike made “at the buzzer” wasn’t judged. After the match, I was told that as long as the player had started his strike attempt (i.e. was in motion to strike) when yame was called then the point should have been judged.
These are a few things I learned or was reminded of today. I hope you find them helpful. Please feel free to share. Thanks!