Thinking too much in Kendo

A short video along Blake Bennett from ‪@KendoCoach‬ talking about how to deal and use thinking too much to improve our kendo and our practices.
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[@Tomppeh]

For beginners it is important to realise you WILL overthink and "analysis paralysis" during your first jigeiko and shiai. Being able to free your mind and "Just go!" will come with experience and it is one of those mental things we must overcome in kendo with practice.

[@Kendotips]

100% I always try to encourage people to just attack and lose the fear of being counter, then with many "failures" I think you can get a good understanding of why you should attack! Thank you for watching and taking the time to leave a comment.

[@KendoCoach]

The better word to use at 1:51 might be 'muscle memory'...? In any case, the comments here about thinking through what to do in jigeiko and shiai are great. Theres definitely a need for this! The key idea here is to shift away from simply 'going through the motions' during kihon, and instead, encourage people to do their kihon in a purposeful (*realistic*) way. That way, when its time to hit the floor in jigeiko, some of the more complex decisions can be made more easily because we've practiced these scenarios during the kihon session.

[@Kendotips]

Thank you for doing this and coming back for clarification we need to do more of these!

[@KendoCoach]

You bet!

[@ianbrass9251]

Great Video! Gave me something to think about... in more than one way.

[@Kendotips]

Thank you very much, feel free to share your results or the things you are struggling with!

[@stefankremer4070]

Hi Jose. Thanks for the video. For me is thinking during practice or ji geiko one of the nice moments in Kendo. In this moments i am thinking just on Kendo and nothing else. I'm thinking how create possibility to strike, why i was beaten, how my opponent will react on my actions. Not thinking is not possible, so i mean. My goal is to think and search solutions faster in shiai. That is the difference between good and not so great fighter ;)

[@Kendotips]

Ah thank you for sharing your thoughts, I agree with you 100% but maybe I didn't do a good job setting the topic for this video. I meant over thinking in kendo as when you think too much about making an opening or you overwhelm your self with possibilities that get on the way of doing your kendo freely! This was the original question, but I like your take on this because I am sure you can see those who are on the dojo but they are more concern about what is happening out the window that what's in front hahaha! Cheers and thank you for watching!!

[@stefankremer4070]

I have also this problem. When i make ji geiko whith my sensei, i really free UNTIL we make ippon shobu. Then i change my style of fighting (so sad my coach), I'm no so active perhaps because i overhinking :)))

[@legoslicerfilms1028]

I find that there’s a fine line personally. thinking too much isn’t good, but not thinking enough isn’t good either. You need to think and at the same time not think. rely on your subconscious for reflex and rely on your consciousness for analyzation. Sorry for the cryptic message..

[@Kendotips]

Finding the balance of when and what to think about and when to allow your body to act instinctively is very hard, but so important to work on.

[@louislamonte334]

Thanks for this, Jose! I hope you are well, my friend!

[@Kendotips]

Thank you my friend. I hope you are well too! Thank you for watching and your constant support.

[@louislamonte334]

@@Kendotips Great to hear from you, Jose! I'm glad you're well!

[@KendoSwordsman]

I think it's definitely a case of time and a place. You don't want to do too much thinking in your shiai, you haven't got time for it. So in kihon and even jikeiko, I think that's when you can have a think. Of course at some point you also need to do jikeiko like it's a live situation so you're used to not over thinking rather than hoping you can on the day when you really need it.

[@Kendotips]

I thing the best ippon come when you are free and not stressing with thinking, but most thinking needs to be done to get to this point! Hahaha

[@KendoSwordsman]

@@Kendotips yeah, that's where strong defensive attributes can really pay off,and I don't mean blocking (although you may have to here and there but do "good blocking" not "idle" blocking ) like managing the maai and centre and keeping some uncertainty in your opponents mind (timing and distance, high vs low, left, right or straight) . You need a bit of interaction and assessment to narrow down the possible waza selection and overall tactical approach in each bout, even from one point to another as it can change after an ippon goes on the board or if its encho or something . I know for some people during this phase it looks like not much is going on but actually everything is going on. If you drop concentration for even a split second you'll receive the strike but if you buckle under the pressure and strike without intent your strike will not find it's mark or worse, you'll recieve the ouji waza. Did you watch Andy's 2023 AJKC ippon Analysis? There's some fantastic examples of great defensive play in those clips with proactive blocking strategies. I know people don't like to block but you can't be without defensive capabilities either. I think the key is to use blocks as a form of Seme. So don't just try to stop the opponents attack but instead you can bait them by limiting their options or by daring them to strike where you want them to strike and by doing so you get them to play into your strategy instead of them running their own "play book". Ultimately though when you pull the trigger and go, in that moment the ideal ippon comes with little to no thought in the moment because you earned the confidence to do it freely. That's the ideal though. Often, it's not as "clean" as you'd like... Every now again though you'll go without a thought and find the mark.. It's a great feeling when it all comes together.

[@Bourne246]

Overthinking caused me to get so stressed i couldnt breath properly with the bogu on

[@Kendotips]

We’re you able to overcome this? If I can ask what helped you?

[@Bourne246]

@@Kendotips not yet though, unfortunately. Im still new to the sport.