The Way of the Warrior - Chris Bradford [35]
‘Other way up,’ he said, nodding at Jack’s bokken. ‘The blade edge should face towards the sky, so that when you withdraw the sword you are immediately able to make your cut.’
Jack turned the blade over so that the curved edge of the wooden blade was pointing upwards.
‘Good. Now watch me.’
Yamato moved his right hand across his waist and gripped the handle. His right leg slid forwards, dropping into a wide stance. Simultaneously he whipped out his bokken, grasping it with both hands, and sliced downwards. He drove forwards another step, lifting the kissaki up to his imaginary victim’s throat. The attack completed, he then twisted the bokken with a sharp one-handed flick to the right before stepping up carefully and re-sheathing his weapon.
‘Now your turn.’
Jack went to mimic Yamato’s movements, but had not even grabbed the hilt before he was interrupted.
‘No! Your hand must stay close to your body. If you have it out there, your enemy will just chop it off.’
Jack began again. At every stage Yamato stopped him and corrected his movements. Jack quickly grew frustrated. There was so much to think about and Yamato was unflinching in his criticism.
‘What’s the final flick for?’ asked Jack irritably.
‘That move is called chiburi,’ replied Yamato, giving a sadistic smile. ‘It shakes your enemy’s blood from the blade.’
∗ ∗ ∗
The whole afternoon was spent repeating that single kata over and over again. Little by little Jack progressed through each step of the sequence until he was able to execute it in one complete move. He was by no means fluid, but he had learnt the core techniques. The sun was beginning to set by the time Yamato brought the session to an end.
‘Arigatō, Yamato,’ said Jack, bowing courteously.
‘Dōmo, gaijin.’
‘My name is Jack.’ And he held Yamato’s imperious look, challenging him to show appropriate respect.
‘Your name is gaijin until you prove otherwise,’ he said, re-sheathing his bokken.
Yamato then spun on his heels and, without returning Jack’s bow, disappeared into the house.
18
BEST OUT OF THREE
The next day, Jack arrived early in the garden to make sure he was practising the kata before Yamato turned up. Yamato made no comment, but Jack’s point had been made. He would not be put off bokken practice, however disrespectfully Yamato acted.
Yamato fell in beside Jack and began to synchronize his training with Jack’s.
Yamato was by no means a skilled martial artist. He had only been training properly for a year. But he had clearly inherited some of his father’s ability with a weapon and knew enough to teach Jack the basics of kenjutsu – the art of the sword.
As autumn gave way to winter, Jack steadily improved. At first the various kata moves were awkward and stilted, but gradually they began to flow and the bokken became a natural extension of his arms. Even Yamato could not deny Jack’s progress. Their randori became more evenly matched and each time Yamato needed greater skill to defeat Jack.
Akiko, however, did not approve of Jack’s decision to train with Yamato. She thought Jack should wait until Masamoto returned. Masamoto could train him properly in the art of the bokken, and without Jack constantly getting injured. However, Akiko soon realized Jack would not be dissuaded and resigned herself to administering herbal ointments for the numerous cuts and bruises he sustained during randori.
As a compromise, Akiko had insisted that if Jack was to train in the martial arts of the samurai then he should also acquaint himself with the finer and more refined aspects of what it meant to be a samurai, in particular formal Japanese etiquette. She reminded Jack that Masamoto would expect him, as his adopted son, to be well versed in their ways, and that Jack should not disappoint him.
Akiko demonstrated the accepted ways of bowing, sitting and rising in the presence of a samurai and master of the household. She showed him the correct manner in which to offer and receive gifts, using both hands. She helped Jack perfect his Japanese language