![]() ![]() ![]() I've seen Japanese karate teachers suddenly appear at tournaments, outfitted in hakama and wearing a sword, doing some sort of kata they've created, clearly imagining they're embodying the spirit of their ancient samurai ancestors. Japanese budo teachers are not immune to this. Tools in Japan, whether a warrior's sword or a carpenter's saw, have always been thought to have an indwelling spirit, and they're typically treated with a respect we don't have for tools in the West.) So a lot of martial artists take up the sword in their dojo, even if the dojo is devoted to karate or some other art that doesn't involve such weapons. A lot of tripe has been written about how it was the “soul of the samurai." (In reality, it was a tool. Tales of its incredible sharpness and power are legendary. There's always been a romance, a mystique, about the Japanese sword. Isn't the proof of a good teacher in his student? Shouldn't he be willing to risk his safety to demonstrate the quality of his students? After all, he's asking those students to do that for him. Were I to witness one of these displays, I'd be tempted to ask the master if he'd switch places with his student. ![]() If they're to bring in students who are supposed to want to learn from this guy, it's not particularly effective. What exactly is the point of such demonstrations then? Are they intended to impress an audience? To show how great the master is? If so, somebody's got an ego problem. You don't do that by killing or maiming your own guys in training.įor another, swords are too expensive to be put to such abuse regularly. What would happen with just a tiny slip or error in distancing when using a live blade? Contrary to a lot of romantic goofiness, the traditional martial arts weren't about courting death they were about building a strong, cohesive unit that could protect the group. Exponents of these old schools regularly get bruises and dings from dull wooden bokken. No matter what ridiculous tale has been told to you by the master in question, aside from solo iai training designed to teach students how to get the sword out of the scabbard and cut with it, live blades almost never appear in a classical dojo.Ĭertainly they're never used to slice and dice. Chopping stuff balanced on a student's body has never been an aspect of traditional martial arts. Second, no classical school of Japanese swordsmanship has any training that's even remotely like this. So these masters aren't proving anything about their supposedly incredible control. Further, just as it's possible to slice into the rind of a melon and split it using a butter knife, a dull sword can work the same way. As long as they just hit straight on, the blade, although razor sharp, doesn't cut. Teachers in classical swords schools in Japan sometimes explain the mechanics of good cutting by tapping a blade against their palm. Japanese swords cut not from the touch but from the horizontal sawing action. First, cutting fruits and veggies laid on bare skin or held in the hand without cutting into the flesh below is easy to do, even with a dull blade. Let's get some initial observations out of the way. Other times, they're in various poses, looking like department-store mannequins, holding fresh produce in different ways while the master wanders around, whacking away as if he's creating a salad. Sometimes, they're prostrate, with a watermelon or some other fruit on their exposed belly, allowing Master Bozo to hack it to pieces. You'd think that would be common sense-like “Don't walk in front of a speeding bus." Apparently, though, while people walking directly and deliberately in front of oncoming traffic is blessedly rare, it's fairly easy to see videos of people in a dojo or a demo standing or sitting while some “master" swings a sharp sword at them. Do not allow anyone to swing a sharp sword at you. ![]()
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