This other

sense is vital to proper Kendo but cannot be developed properly unless practice is made every day. During a period when this is possible the student will find he can sense the attack before it begins, know the place of attack, or even the nature of the combination to be employed and this is before his opponent has moved. This is termed Senken (seeing before) or precognition and the instant of attack can be felt building up, even when watching. The spiritual build up of the time of the attack can be caught even by relative novices providing it is pointed out to them. The flow between the opponents can be strongly felt almost as a physical force.