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US Federation of Toyama Ryu Batto Jutsu NewsLetter |
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| OK, cutting area done, now drain the mats. Hmmm... placing wet tatami outside to drain in temperatures below freezing didn't seem like a good idea. The effect of chopping through frozen mats on an expensive Japanese sword blade never came up in our conversations in Orlando. Luckily I discovered those large laundry sinks by the washing machine in the basement work just fine. Draining complete, now warm-ups, bow in and work through the practice cuts. I began to notice things. movement is a bit restricted by multiple layers of thick clothing. the arm doesn't bend quite as easily while doing noto... that kind of thing. I now have a greater respect for those fully armored samurai! Then there was a new problem with the parts of me not covered... particularly the fingers. I had decided that it would't be safe or practical to wear thick gloves while handling a sword. It seemed important to be able to feel the contact between the tsuka and the fingers. So I took a pair of those thin cotton work gloves and cut the fingers off. This seemed to work fine as I could stil feel through the thinness of the gloves to insure the pads of my palms were correctly making a Toyama Grip (see the article on Chi Buri and Noto by Elder Sensei). But the fingers were still exposed. No matter, I'd deal with it in true budoka style. OK. Cutting practice over. By the way, doing gyaku kesa in several layers of bulky clothing is quite an experience. I brought out the tatami and spiked the first one. There is something spiritual about handling something wet in below freezing temperature. Wipe hands and rub them briskly to bring back feeling to the fingers. They had developed a slight burning in them, similar to the kind that is experienced while digging through the ice in a beer cooler. Time to center myself. I face the tatami and clear the mind. Breathe deeply. Nothing exists except the wara. Bow. On the third breath draw the sword overhead and take the first step forward. There is the reassuring sound of crunching ice with each step. That combined with the slipperiness of the frozen ground sets the mood for swing a razor sharp sword. |
| Minnesota con't... |
| After four steps I am in place for rokudan giri. The sword was poised above my head ready to cut. I hope. The burning sensation in the fingers had evolved to more of a numbness. I do feel the extra weight in my arms. Good. Everything ready. I stare at the tatami, or try to. My eyes had begun to water from the cold, my nose was running, and there was this obscuring fog created with each breath. I cut. Concentrate on throwing the sword point out and around the target, keeping the correct angle of the blade, maintaining the proper speed to the swing, draw strength from the hips... well, hopefully my body was doing all that as my only thought was whether or not I was going to keep a grip on the sword. Digging my shinken out of the snow was not something I particularly wanted to do. Luckily the body was on autopilot and I did a passable kesa. OK, there was a little slipping because of the momentum of the swing and the slight uncertainty of the footing. But now I was aware ot this and could hopefully keep from slipping and busting my butt on the frozen ground while holding a sharp sword. Raise the sword and change the stance, correct for the slipping and continue. I was able to complete the next five cuts without major incident. Timing, I discovered, was becoming important, not only for making a correct cut, but to finish the cut before losing complete feeling in my fingers and the other mats froze. I managed to cut through all the mats without mishap, though I will admit I have cut better. The breeze had picked up and the wind chill was now in the teens. It was almost four o'clock and beginning to get dark. With a warm feeling of success I bowed out. As a few flakes of snow began to fall I looked forward to the final, yet equally important part of tameshigiri...Clean up! Robert Steele |
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