Sword and Spirit

[tmcg]

The sword is a living thing. Although a product of man's technical precocity,
it is far more than just a tool, a fusion of carbon and metals hammered
and shaped into utilitarian form. A sword is a conduit of power. It pulses
with the psychic energy of its wielder, and takes on the nuances of that
individual. It transofrms the holder, investing the swordsman with a form
of force that is the result of some occult melding of body and blade. The
Japanese tell tales of swords that sing in their scabbards to warn their
owners of danger, of blades forged by evil men that do evil deeds, of other
swords, created by beneficent smiths, whose razor edges would not cut a leaf
innocently borne to them by wind or water. The sword augments our strengths,
it magnifies our faults. It is an implement of discipline, a symbol of courage,
a tangible representation of justice. --John J. Donohue, COMPLETE KENDO
(Tuttle Publishing, 1999)

I'm not studying kendo or kenjutsu; although it's a beautiful martial art and a worthy Way, it's too stylized a form of bladework for me, like Western sport fencing. For research purposes, I'm interested in how blades were used when the footing was uneven and the opponent aimed to kill. After I took some sport foil and before I discovered ARMA, I was thinking about contacting a local kendo place about classes, and I'm glad now that I held off; I wouldn't have been able to enter a dojo in good faith, with a commitment to the years of study the discipline requires. (Plus, I can only imagine how confusing it would have been to add a layer of beginner kendo body memory to the layer of beginner sport-foil body memory I'd just acquired, in addition to the Krav Maga body memory I've been working on, none of which are quite the stances and footwork used with medieval longsword.) But I've been reading up on kendo with interest, and I liked that bit from the first chapter of Donohue.

Now to watch The Seven Samurai again.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I know what you mean about being interested in reading things even when you know you won't do them. I love reading about rock climbing, but I'm not sure I'll ever try it (I have no natural coordination, I'd have to get in better shape, and I don't actually live where there are any, well, rocks...)

However, your mention of body memory (which is a great descriptive phrase), made me wonder if you'd ever read Flow by the-guy-with-the-really-long-name (Czentmihayli??). Flow is about that moment in learning when everything comes together and things are all laid out--this step and this one and this one--and you're really focused and you're operating just at/just beyond the limits of your ability--peak experience.

When I've managed to experience it, it's like the whole world's spread out before me. It doesn't have to be physical tasks, but it's easier to describe with the physical. I'd recommend the book though it's kind of sloggy reading in spots.

Deb

[terrymcgarry.livejournal.com]

I haven't heard of Flow, and it sounds like it's right up my alley. I've been thinking a lot about--ironically--how we think but don't think when we're in that sort of state. It's important to an aspect of the book I'm working on now. So that's a great rec. Thanks!