Starting Japanese Swordsmanship

(Toyamaryu Iaido / Battoudo) by Jesse Palmer

Intro
Getting Started
My Thoughts
Almost a year
Conclusion

Intro:

The intent of this work is to share my experience starting Japanese Swordsmanship for others to enjoy, relate to, and give you more perspective about the experience. I've been interested in swords, samurai, ninja and things Japanese ever since I was little. I've been looking for people to get to know and have fun with learning together as well. Also, I would like to go beyond swinging around a machete while doing yard work; probably looking like a dangerous clown. Starting out and having zero experience attending a dojo and swinging a real sword, beyond watching anime (Japanese animation) and movies and the aforementioned yard work; I was really starting at the beginning. I hope you enjoy my recollection.

Getting Started:

(meeting)

I first found out about Toyamaryu, the name of the style of swordsmanship I've encountered, at big local Anime convention. Metrocon, it happens every year in downtown Tampa. The Konjaku kioi Toyama school was demonstrating during the weekend and they also had a merchant display. An extremly nice one, it was like a quaint little sword shop out of old japan. During the demonstration they showed several of their basic forms called kata and two man kata (though there were girls in the demonstration as well) is called kumitachi. Also they demonstrated test cutting, referred to as tameshigiri. Which is where long rolls of straw mats called tatami omote are cut with sharpened swords. Which they distinguish by calling them shinken. They only use those when they cut targets; for the other parts they used dulled ones referred to as iaitou. The motions they went through were very short and precise, and generally done at a very slow speed except for the actual cutting motions and the part of the sheathing when they first put the tip of the sword into their saya, the Japanese word for sheath. After that they organized us and gave us all wooden practice swords called boken...after signing the obligatory "I won't sue if something bad happens" documents. Then had us go through some of the basic cuts and basic kata. I really enjoyed it. After talking with them throughout the convention and finding they taught locally, I was delighted. I followed up by attending their next available class.

(first classes intro)

When I arrived for my first class, saw lots of faces from the demonstration and ones I hadn't seen. I introduced myself to ease my nervousness. Right away, my classmates and the sensei that's Japanese for teacher, Mike Femal, helped me get up to speed and ready to participate in class. Everyone was quite courteous despite all those serious and scary faces while they chopped the tatami to pieces at the Metrocon. The first few classes were in a word, overwhelming, perhaps like the previous paragraph, but I loved them. There was so much going on in class that was new. New exercises, new words, new rituals for beginning and ending work, new clothes...new ways to wear clothes, new ways to walk and even talk. Back then there were no Dojo orientation classes, no Basics classes which we now call kihon keiko. They basically did their routine and I just did what I could to get up to speed. I imitated their movements best I could and asked questions after class on how to do stuff repeatedly.

(the people & class & safety)

The people I met in the dojo were just excellent. It quickly became apparent they all love swords. It's not enough everyone practices using them. They must own them, lots of them, build themselves sword racks and carry them around in special bags...though I'm sure in time I'll do the same :P...swinging them around outside of class to the point of impaling household appliances (pun intended). I'm teasing a bit though, truly everyone is highly highly responsible and cognizant of each other and what they're doing. It's a very prominent aspect of class, safety. Swords are ridiculously dangerous. It's not like getting hit with a hand, foot or stick. If you head gets hit with one of those you get a round bump. If a sword hits your head it might decide to stay there, gush blood, cause you to collapse, require a funeral, disband the dojo to pay for reparations/ lawsuits, prison sentences, oh the horror....I'm getting carried away a bit. Still, swords were designed to purely to kill...people; not even like guns or arrow or knives which have other utility like hunting and preparing food to cook etc.. There's no sneaking up on a deer with a 4ft hunk of steel nor will you use it to fillet a fish. Hmm, maybe if you needed to butcher your own cow or pig...but that's pretty limited use. So safety and attentiveness are quite core to how class is conducted. How we walk around each other. How we handle the weapons. Even how we take turns speaking. We don't even practice with the shinken hardly at all those are just for tameshigiri. We use the iaitou. And when someone does do tameshigiri it is only one person at a time and everyone is seated no one moves behind them. One mistake is too many. We all know this and we do our best to keep everyone else safe.

(the people & class & the esteem)

The other side of the experience in class and complementary to it is the esteem. Everyone is intent on improving. From the Sensei down to a new guy or girl. In this case me. Everyone does their best. And in the time I've spent there, about four months, as of this writing, everyone has improved. Conversely, everyone as experienced as they are, also has had an Ah-ha! moment where they found something new in some basic aspect of their practice, that they had never realized. Another side of the esteem and safety is the responsibility that's entrusted to everyone, granted...if something goes bad...poof no more classes. It's not like in karate where someone just breaks something. If someone gets stuck or a large cut with a sword that's pretty much it. With that dagger overhead and in the interest of being able to continue having classes everyone does their best and treats everyone their best. Granted one can still get in trouble, like swinging around the sensei's prized boken without asking, (*author hangs his head*)..I recommend asking before picking up anything at the dojo that you're sure isn't yours. The environment is one where mistakes are allowed just not lethal ones. Having others to learn alongside is such a good thing. There's the competitive side where desires are born to go beyond yourself. Which is easier to do in groups. There's the value of having others with different experience and perspective to help see your self and your practice from another angle. And of course when you accomplish something new the congratulations is heartwarming. And also the humor everyone has, their wit or lack of it (myself included) We have some good laughs. Everyone is good company to be with.

(the teachers & the esteem)

Sensei is always improving himself as well as the dojo. Along with the dojo, sensei and his wife sell swords, weapons and various things from Japan. It seems they're on the leading edge of the swords being created and sold today, used for cutting and martial arts practice. Being that they are a dojo, they get the latest ones before most everyone else. In our practice he is always expanding what he does. Adding more challenging classes, reapplying himself to basics, and giving us his insight so we can improve. Also, striving for authenticity, going back to the Japanese for proper names, pronunciation and attention to all the little details of our school. As well, and most importantly, class is always interesting, never boring or dull. Sensei is always coming up with new exercises to apply what he wants to teach as well as different ways of training in the standard movements of our ryu. Ryu, is Japanese for a school of thought/ practice. Which all together makes such a supremely good experience, benefits the dojo overall as well as the students. I am very grateful to participate in the classes and interact with everyone and to be able to share my experience with others.

(class & what we learn)

I mentioned earlier how old students were learning new things right along with me. It seems that learning we have in class is not linear. Since starting out overwhelmed, everyone was eager to load up the newcomer, me, with every bit of instruction they could, curious as to when I would top off. I spent my first classes being mindful, literally, of all the instructions being given. Shuffling around, eyes staring out into space thinking about my feet placement and timing and a dozen other things I was being instructed to do. Then getting pretty good with it, so I thought...only to find something more to refine or develop....and that's just during class. It's not even that the instructors cause pressure. On day one I discovered we have to wear our swords in a belt (obi) it's not a nice belt with holes and a clasp it's just a 20ft piece of cloth and it has to be tied a certain way so it fits with the rest of the uniform. It took me several classes before I could do it on my own...haha I tried to practice at home so I would learn faster...but I couldn't remember how to tie it...so I couldn't even practice. I thought...Google! that will help, and could only find how to tie one with a kimono...we don't wear those, it's a completely different tie. Later I learned, they have instructions on their own site...and I thought I was so smart...geez. And that was just the belt. Later when I decided to upgrade from my shorts, t-shirt and obi to the full uniform, I had to learn how to tie the rest of it. The Japanese just aren't into buttons, zippers or even velcro. Everything is tied in clever ways. So clever that...many days I had to ask various students before class how to tie my hakama, the pants, up. 2 months later, I discovered I was still not tying it quite right. [*ed. It's been a nearly a I can say proudly...I can tie my own hakama, yay!.] There's always something more to learn or train.

My Thoughts:

Yet along with all this wonder...were these nagging feelings and anxieties, I struggled with. Feeling like I'm still just a clown, just under a bigger banner. The two big things were "why am I working so hard at learning something I'll probably never use, something impractical". The other is "I really don't want to kill anyone". Hell, I don't even like killing bugs. I don't want to hurt anyone. Though I think that thought may have come to about due to struggling to get up to speed with all that I was being offered. What I mean is...the humor of feeling like "...maybe the point of this practice is to get so sore and ornery that I actually WANT to kill someone" sheesh. But in hindsight I was just working too impatiently at learning. But still, "why practice"? Well, my adolescent self pipes up "Because it's beyond cool" but that doesn't clear it up enough for me. So I thought about these things.

And here's what I found. Even though, samurai and people walking around openly carrying swords are not a relevant part of the modern day there are quite a few benefits I've been enjoying. The main one is I am happy. Despite the qualms, class is so fun. It's like another world. Whatever happened during the day, when I walk inside and greet my senpai, my classmates, and sensei; I move. I arrive at a new place entirely. What a joy that is, to find that kind of relief. Another supreme benefit, though this is directly related to my own effort I imagine, is I feel super fit. Class has some challenging stuff, I'm sure other martial arts do way more physical stuff, in fact I saw a movie recently were students of karate hop up a hill while someone rides on their back another example is a guy punching a train. We don't go that far in class. Our level of activity works for me and really its voluntary and can be as low impact as one chooses or as high. Another benefit I've found in applying my self to this study is, my mind is so sharp and fast, man I love that, I can concentrate on multiple tasks, I don't miss anything...at least, it feels like I'm not. As for the second dilemma, well for one thing, with practicing on my own and improving my fitness, I don't feel so sore or ornery anymore, that goes a long way, if not all of it, to keep my serenity and sanity. Also, the other thing that I've found that mitigates the struggle is those attitudes in the class and the people. It doesn't feel like we're being asked to become mindless killing machines. Everyone treats each other like a responsible individual. Also, everyone's wellbeing for the most part is first on people's minds. Yes, this is certainly a martial art. We're pretty much learning how to kill and avoid being killed. Yet, the balance of my feeling in class feels more like respect for life than defeating someone to survive. So all that continues to put my mind at ease. The physical training, along with the high attentiveness and fast decision making are all qualities I totally desire.

Almost a year:

I wrote this article about a year ago. I revisited it today and can say it's all quite accurate. Class starts out overwhelming but it has become something much more comfortable nowadays. Class continues to be the rich experience I describe. Fun, interesting, challenging these all still describe it. I've since replaced all my anxieties with joys. The dojo continues to be something I'm proud to participate in. I continue to learn and improve. As well, class continues to be fun and new. I tell people about it to the point of often finding myself out of business cards to hand out. I've gotten to meet many new people coming to the dojo. And it feels good to help them get up to speed as I can appreciate what their shoes might feel like.

Conclusion:

So the pros out-weight any cons I could see by a long shot. The company, the camaraderie and atmosphere are good. I'm happy there. It's been a profoundly good investment. I feel great about myself. I've applied myself and achieved a feeling of accomplishment. These touch stones I'll have for life, what a blessing! It's just fine the way it is, out of date or in fashion; even if I never use it outside of the dojo...though now that I think about it, trimming tree limbs while doing yard work has been a lot more fun :)