So, you do martial arts?
Whenever you tell someone that you do martial arts, I’ll near guarantee that what pops into their head is an image of rows of people in white gi punching in unison to the commands of an instructor in the front of the room. Although that may be the experience for a group of martial artists, that’s not what I’ve ever really done.
I’ve studied Japanese martial arts, with an emphasis on Japanese swordsmanship (kenjutsu) for most of my time in martial arts. This is at the same time, a more regimented study, and more individualistic, especially the more koryu the system is. Koryu is a Japanese term that literally means “old school.” They describe Japanese martial arts developed and recorded before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. It is a very sub-genre of martial arts. However, because it is a “samurai art” much of the system is designed for weapons. Often this is the Japanese sword of the time, the katana.
Why swords?
Whenever, I describe what my martial art is to someone, I always get a weird Scooby-doo head tilt response. As if their brain is trying to work out a question. Normally, that question is “why?” At least with the more modern, empty hand arts like Karate, Krav Maga, or even Aikido, people can see a more direct line of self-defense. There’s at least a semblance of usefulness there.
Normally, this is where the conversation ends, and we both go about our happy mingling. But, for me that’s where the reflection begins. Why do I practice an anachronistic, culturally foreign martial art? There’s very little immediately practical about it. As everyone always responds, “Why? People don’t carry swords around anymore?”
That’s a legitimate argument.
Reasons for training with martial arts weapons
The easiest answer I can immediately come up with is that skill acquisition can be a goal unto itself. Getting better at something can be its own reward, regardless of what it is. But, that feels hollow somehow. It doesn’t incorporate the depth of effort put into learning to use these tools.
Training with one weapon trains you with others. Humans are tool users. We have crappy teeth, our claws are pathetic, and we don’t even have the protection of fur. Our eyesight’s not bad though (except mine, I need glasses). What makes humans dominant is the adaptability of our tool use. When thinking of martial arts, there are very few situations where a weapon would not be immediately available. So therefore, training in one weapon, prepares you for the use of any/all weapons. There is some truth to this. A good martial arts system should be principle based, and be capable of having the same principles applied regardless of what tool is being used. So there is some practicality in what I do.
My last reason is a little secret, but I’ll let you in on it. Swords are cool. There I said it. If you don’t understand that, you might never get it, but swords have this very unusual cultural place. They were weapons and symbols of war that could be carried and displayed civilly. They’ve been used to signify surrender of an army, or raised to incite war. They are just as much a symbol as they are a tool. People inherently know this. Spears are probably the kings of the battlefield (without counting bows), but they’ve not the gravitas of swords. If you never felt a sword come alive in your hand, I can’t explain that feeling to you. Every sword is individual, and two different people picking up the same sword can have markedly different reactions to it. It doesn’t seem to matter the style or system of swordsmanship. HEMA people get it too, and I hope you’ll join me in that feeling.
Do you practice a weapons art? Can you tell me why? Leave a comment to explain why you do what you do.
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I know what you mean. There is something about swords, particularly those that hold such significant social and cultural importance like the katana.
I am trying to move more and more into working with staffs though. There is something so freeing about having the whole length of the weapon both accessible and as a threat.