It’s been my observation that most dojos I’ve been to haven’t practiced tsuki. There’s probably a good reason for this. Perhaps it’s a bit more dangerous than the other strikes. It’s certainly more intimidating – knowing you’re going to get a shinai thrust toward your throat isn’t a pleasant thought.

That being said, knowing how to strike a good tsuki hit is important. In the Bokuto Ni Yoru Kendo Kihon Waza Keiko Ho (we call them “bokuto-waza” at our club), the first technique consists of the basic strikes – Men, Kote, Do AND Tsuki. Other sensei talk about focusing on pushing towards tsuki before snapping a men or kote strike. “Holding centre” relies on having good kamae that’s focused on the tsuki of your opponent.

So, tsuki’s important, but not taught much. Here are a few things I’ve gleaned about when and when not to strike tsuki.

• In Competition – In my experience in Canadian tournaments, it’s generally accepted that if you’re below 3rd dan you probably shouldn’t be throwing a tsuki in shiai. Sometimes you’ll see a mudansha player attempt one and invariably the judges on the sideline cringe.
• Against junior players – that means if you’re 16 and under, congratulations – you’re probably not going to get tsuki’d. 17 years old? Welcome to the senior division : )
• Against anyone who’s better than you. This sort of doesn’t need to be said, and yet, it does. Especially if you’re going up against an 8th-dan sensei. Just how bad of a beating do you feel like today? You can easily get one if you decide to throw tsuki against every sempai in your dojo.

This is probably not the definitive list of things to consider when you think about tsuki, but it’s a start. Comments welcome : )