On the wall of our bedroom hangs a sword rack with several wooden Japanese practice swords and a very actual and quite sharp Japanese Tanto, a short sword. Below this is a certificate proclaiming me to be a San Dan (third-degree black belt) in Iaido. Iaido is a Japanese sword art. I earned that degree after about ten years of study, slowly progressing in degrees, and on March 15th, 2015, I earned it.
Arthritis is a thing to miss
Arthritis has made some of the Kata ( practice exercises) difficult or impossible for me. But those are mostly the antique postures that would have been effective in pre-modern Japan. Why are such Kata still included in the course of study? Partially because of tradition, but also because of the lessons they contain of strategy, tactics, and the lessons of fluid mobility under challenging circumstances. One is not always defending or attacking from an ideal position. Despite the handicap that arthritis has imposed, I still practice kata as a way of reinforcing training, but also to retain and extend mobility. With arthritis, you can’t just let the condition progress without opposition; too soon, you’ll be a statue.
The Way of Martial Arts
Many people misconstrue training in martial arts with aggressive acts. Having studied Judo in my youth, and Kenjutsu, and Iaido in maturity, I can attest that true martial artists are among the most polite and courteous people you can meet. The aggressive, habitual braggarts are the result of broken traditions and training regimes without an underlying philosophy.
To many westerners, the concept of philosophy in martial traditions seems a contradiction. But it’s not. Training in martial arts puts much power in the hands of the practitioner, and with power comes potential abuse. Philosophy and traditional practices contain and channel ability.
Now, as I’ve said, most martial artists of my acquaintance are the most polite individuals I have known. But here is a little story from my years of training in Judo as a youth.
A senior Sensei (high-ranking teacher) was visiting the dojo that I belonged to. After a practice session, we offered to take Sensei out to dinner. On the way, we were standing at a corner waiting for traffic to stop when a group of young men started harassing an older woman. Harassing turned to shoving, and Sensei turned to the youth and politely asked them to stop—they continued. Sensei then politely asked them ot stop again. They turned and decided that the short, elderly Japanese man was a good target and attacked him. About thirty seconds later, we all proceeded on our way, leaving the young thugs to sort themselves out and pick themselves up off the ground. Sensei had used only enough force and technique to disable them as a threat.
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You have lived a full life, Lou. I like hearing about this training I know nothing of.
Active Living
Wonderful story. In 1985 I had the wonderful “job” of organizing the Festival of Asian Arts and Culture in Denver. It was held at the Denver Botanical Gardens. All the Asian nationalities in Denver did a martial arts demonstration. Each one was differently beautiful. How did I get that job? I was just back from China, desperately homesick. I’d volunteered to help fundraising at the Asian Pacific Development Center. Pretty soon the director and a couple members of the board recognized the unique gift I brought to the organization — I was white, non-Asian. My job became keeping the rival factions focused on the Festival. Pretty strange if you think of it, but it was one the greatest moments of my life. As for arthritis? Yep.
A great story, and an important observation that the outsider is sometimes considered to be a suitable in-between because they have no intimate stake in the outcome.
Would you consider doing a post or two on this?
That’s an interesting idea. I didn’t figure it out all by myself. A board member — this awesome Thai woman — Patty (Pramprimpam) Coutts (she’d married a Scot) who owned a restaurant (Chada Thai) — told me one night when I’d gotten frustrated and was thinking of quitting, “You can’t quit! All we do is fight with each other.”
I learned it again as one of the white people living in a multi-racial, multi-ethnic neighborhood in San Diego, a neighborhood which was often the first “home” neighborhood for refugees. It was especially sweet on Halloween when suddenly everyone was out no matter what language they spoke. It’s partly why I loved living in the “hood.”
💙⭐