Martial Arts Training in Japan. David Jones

while eight feet away his ten-year-old darling was being introduced to a hip throw, an often frightening prospect for beginners. The judo sensei, on one knee with his hand lightly touching the little girl’s elbow, urging her to gambatte! (try hard; put up a good fight) was teaching the little girl to overcome her fear. She, though knowing her father was nearby, never took her eyes off the sensei. The senior student who was selected to throw the little girl knew his part and was obviously pleased that his sensei had trusted him enough to select him for this subtle and crucial moment. There was a palpable sense of kinship among the four. It was as if the sensei, the father, the daughter, and the senior student were all related.

      Meanwhile, the heavyweights formed a territory of their own on the dojo floor. Serious young judo competitors are some of the largest, strongest, and fastest martial artists I saw while living in Japan. At the same time several elderly, white-haired men with low-slung black belts floated among the various components of the class, visiting, answering questions, and demonstrating, after which those they engaged would bow very deeply as the elders completed their instructions and moved on. On another part of the judo floor earnest senior students taught basic throws to the beginners. The pattern of practice had a feeling of the eternal.

      Kendo: The Way of the Sword

      The signature weapon of the samurai was the sword. It was everything to the warrior and has been called the soul of the samurai. Swordsmanship, as opposed to mere hacking away at an enemy with a bladed weapon, dates to as early as 789 A.D., when kumitachi (sword exercises) were used in the instruction of the sons of the kuge (noblemen) at the court in Nara. Its roots no doubt go back ever farther, perhaps even a thousand years earlier.