Pointers on kamae and suburi by Sakamoto Takashi

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In 2019 from August 2 (Fri) to August 4 (Sun) the annual Amsterdam Kendo Summer Seminar was held. In this report, the contents of the seminar will be presented in text and video.
If you participated in the seminar, please remember to incorporate it into your regular practice.
[Profile]
Sakamoto Takashi 7th dan
All Japan Student Team Championships 1st
All Japan Student Championships Individual 3rd
All Japan Championships best 8
All Japan Teachers Championships 1st
[The importance of Kamae and Suburi]
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Suburi is an important practice method which can be done at home. Sakamoto sensei instructed us on suburi, explaining that he was taught that every single suburi strike will have influence on your shiai.
It is very important to treat suburi as a valuable practice method rather than a mere warm-up. In Sakamoto sensei’s experience, students who are good at suburi become very strong swordsmen.
[Tsuka length]
Before checking your kamae, let’s check the length of our tsuka. To get the right place to grip the shinai for beginners, we put the bottom of the tsuka on the elbow cavity of the right arm, and make them grab the shinai. However, this is only a rule of thumb.
If your tsuka long, your shinai will effectively be shorter and vice versa. However, if the tsuka is too short, your shinai will feel heavier which can limit your shinai handling. Try to thoroughly experiment with your tsuka, and find the ideal length for yourself
[Pointers for kamae]
When swinging your shinai, make sure your left hand is diamond shaped. By doing so, your sword tip will have more reach. Your sword tip must be swung sharply in order to make effective strikes. The left hand grip is very important for snappy and fast strikes.
Grip the shinai with the left hand while covering the bottom of the tsuka with your little finger and ring finger. The middle finger, index finger and thumb should be placed alongside, and it is important to use all of your 10 fingers to swing your shinai.
The right hand should be gripping the shinai as if you were holding an egg or a little bird. Grab it too tight and you will crush it, grab too loose and you will drop it. Grab with your right hand with that feeling.
Best 8 Bokken and Shinai for Suburi
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