Simple Kendo Coaching Strategies for Faster Progress

When Good Training Doesn’t Stick

Most of us coach the way we were coached. Kirikaeshi, five big men, five small men, five kote, five dou. Bit of waza. A large helping of jigeiko to finish up. Meanwhile, Brian counts the beginners through suburi while his gout clears up.

And to be fair—it works.

You run solid sessions. People sweat. The drills are sharp. The rhythm’s there. You’ve even got the motodachi rotating without being told. Things look good.

But then, at some point progress stalls.

Students show up, do the reps, and somehow still flub their fumokomi timing in jigeiko. 

Some start coasting. Others lose confidence. A few quietly vanish.

It works... until it doesn’t.

And I see this all the time. In my own dojo. In coach education settings. In my day job, working with PE teachers and sports instructors across a range of disciplines. Coaches - smart, committed, experienced - often fall into the same comfortable rhythm: kihon drills, familiar structures, synchronized movement.

But that comfort has a cost.

Students nod along. They do the reps. But if the structure never shifts? If the stretch isn't there? The learning flattens. Our students plateau, not because they’re not trying, but because nothing is pushing them them to adapt.

That’s where fresh coaching perspective matters.

But this post isn’t about dramatic overhauls. It’s about small, deliberate shifts that sharpen learning without slowing momentum. Simple adjustments that help to keep people engaged, responsive, and actually improving over a longer period of time.

Here’s what I’ll cover:

• The invisible coaching tool I never leave home without

• How to turn drills into decisions, not just movement patterns

• How to up the stakes to switch on engagement 

• Why good feedback isn’t always yours to give

If you’ve ever felt like your students are working hard but learning slow, this one’s for you.

No Batteries Required

Let's start with the one coaching tool I never leave home without. 

When I first started running sessions, I’d do what I thought was helpful. I’d see someone’s footwork lagging, or their timing was off, and I’d call the whole group in:

"Yameee! Everyone in. Let’s fix this..."

Except here’s the thing: most of the group didn’t need that correction. So I was disrupting everyone’s flow to fix a problem one or two people had. Momentum dropped. People checked out.

That’s when I started using what I now call my 'coaching remote'.

Here's how it works. 

Imagine holding an invisible remote control while you coach. You notice an area someone needs to work on. You point your remote at that student and tap (and say) "pause." At this point, you slip in a quiet, targeted cue or question for them to think over, and then smash the "replay" button. Maybe it’s a note on foot placement. Maybe it’s how they enter distance. One clear focus. Then they try again.

If something’s unclear, hit "rewind." Ask them to recreate the moment they froze in jigeiko. What did they see? What were they waiting for? What was the better outcome from that moment? They replay it—slower, sharper, more aware.

If they’re coasting through drills, hit rewind. “Go back. Try again—but this time, close the distance with one less step.” Or, “Motodachi, give them a bit more pressure.” You’re not changing the drill—you’re raising the stakes. Suddenly it’s not just repetition—it’s adaptation.

Meanwhile, the rest of the class keeps moving. The drill stays alive. No lectures. No stalling.

I’ve used this with seniors, juniors, total beginners. I’ve literally said, “You’re in slow motion now—try that seme again.” And people lean in. Kids treat it like a mini-game. Adults engage. The feedback’s tailored, specific, and immediate. 

Using a 'coaching remote' is a super simple concept, but the effect is real. And best of all, no more monologuing to the whole group. The training holds its rhythm, and your students get what they need, when they need it. 

From Drills to Decisions

One of the biggest traps in coaching is mistaking movement for learning. Sure, you run a clean set of men-uchi: big ones, small ones, nice angles, good footwork. Your students are looking sharp until jigeiko rolls around...and it’s as if they've trained to recite poetry, then got thrown into a rap battle.

Because even when movement looks good, it doesn’t always transfer. Especially if the drill doesn’t ask for a decision on timing, pressure, or presence.

So I've started asking myself one critical question each time I plan and run a session: what problem is this activity solving? What decisions are people making while they do it? Nowadays, instead of just saying “do men-uchi,” I’ll say:

"You’re in the final ten seconds of a grading. One clean strike is all you need. Your partner is defensive and stubborn. What do you do?"

It’s still men-uchi. But now there’s context. Pressure. An opponent with a role. Suddenly, they’re not just repeating, they’re reading, timing, adjusting.

You can shape this in dozens of ways:

• Change the scenario: make it the final point in a daihyo-sen match, or the opener after a long wait on the grading floor.
• Adjust the opponent’s behaviour: motodachi can play defensively, offensively, erratically, or stubbornly neutral.

The goal isn’t to turn every drill into performance art or interpretive dance. No one’s asking for “Men-uchi: The Musical.” It’s about adding just enough realism that students start connecting what they do with what actually happens. In simple terms, drills stop being choreography and start feeling like combat rehearsals. And once students are rehearsing for something real, even kihon needs more than clean form. It needs stakes. A bit of urgency. A reason to care. (Yes, even kihon!)

Make Kihon Competitive (Without Turning It Into Squid Game)

Repetition isn’t the enemy. But reps without focus? That’s where things go stale.

Kihon is an opportunity to shape decision making, not just posture. But if students are just working through the same ol' sequence: five men, five kote, rotate, things quickly slip into autopilot - predictable rhythms and no adjustments required.

So instead, I say:

"Land three clean ippon before you move on."

It’s not revolutionary. But it shifts the whole purpose of the set. Each strike becomes something to earn, not just perform.

And you can scale this depending on the level:

• Three in a row: Great for consistency. Forces people to stay focused across reps, not just one good hit followed by two sloppy ones. (And if they miss on the last one, start over.)

• Time constraint: “Score within 20 seconds.” This replicates grading or shiai pressure. Cuts have to be clean and timely.

You’re not trying to trick your students or crank up the difficulty for its own sake. What you’re doing is designing urgency. Creating the conditions where kihon demands presence, not just precision.

I’ve seen it lift the energy of entire classes. People go from moving through the motions to actually trying to win the rep. And when they do that, they start to internalise the stuff that matters: timing, spacing, intent.

Feedback That Sticks

Even sharp, competitive reps only go so far if students aren’t learning to reflect, adapt, and take some ownership of what’s actually happening.

That’s why I started building in what I call “reflection breaks.” Nothing dramatic - just a small pause in the rhythm. But enough to get people noticing more about their kendo.

Before, we’d run the set, rotate, move on. It was clean. Efficient. And pretty forgettable, really.

Now, I’ll stop them for maybe 15 seconds and ask:

“What felt right?”
“What could’ve been better?”

Not as a performance. I actually want them to think. Best case, you get: “That one landed because I did x.” Worst case, you get: "Uhh…” followed by a slightly more thoughtful next rep. Either way, you’re chipping away at that autopilot loop.

Then they go again, but this time with something to explore. Not “just be better,” but maybe “try lifting the kensen earlier,” or “don’t flinch when motodachi moves.” Something specific. Something they can actually adjust.

You can fold in partner feedback too. After each rep:

“What made that hard to block?”
“What gave it away?”
“What actually made that land?”

It’s not a coaching trick. It’s just helping people notice what matters. Suddenly the feedback’s flowing in both directions. They’re watching each other, offering cues, and figuring out how to make it work - not just waiting for you to tell them what’s wrong.

Smarter Coaching, Stronger Students

These aren’t really coaching “hacks,” per se. Rather, I see them as shifts in how we can think about training design and delivery - especially in ways that better suit the needs and learning habits of today’s students. These are simple coaching strategies that: 

• Keep the group moving while tailoring feedback on the fly (coaching remote)

• Turn static drills into decision-making scenarios

• Add consequences to kihon so each rep actually means something

• Use reflection and partner feedback to build awareness and adaptability

The result isn’t about fancier drills or activities. It’s about developing sharper learners. It’s about training where people stay engaged, and each men-uchi starts to carry weight. The dojo stops feeling like a rehearsal hall, and starts looking like a place where someone might actually survive a shiai.

Even Brian. Once his gout clears up.

ps...

If this kind of coaching approach speaks to you—messy, practical, grounded in actual coaching rather than theory—I put together a free 7-day email course that goes deeper into all this. Research-backed session design and the subtle art of getting someone to improve without them realising you tricked them into it. Imagine, with one email per day for 7 days, you'll be crushing this coaching-gig. Check it out. Or don’t. I’m not your mum. 😉