Ah, gentle reader. I have picked this short book to be a mild distraction whilst I work through That Hideous Strength, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Pamela, and the second book in the Story of Civilization set by the Durants. Well, mostly, That Hideous Strength right now, which I thought might go better/go faster after reading the Gothickish mess of The Unloved, but, oh, no. Still slow going there–a couple of segments of a chapter or a chapter of it a night. So: This book, which I acquired at ABC Books in 2023 (along with two books on how to play guitar, strangely enough–clearly this is a sign that I need to learn to play guitar).
So: It is a rather recent book as the books I acquire goes. It is a basic instruction book on Kendo, Japanese swordfighting techniques for a hand-and-a-half sword, focusing on fighting armored opponents. It has a list of exercises and drills and a couple of illustrations, but mostly it directs the user to YouTube videos for actual demonstrations. Which is atypical for the books I read on martial arts–most of them are old enough that they precede YouTube. I haven’t watched the videos, though, as I’m still a fencer more than a kendo guy, and that will be all right until people start wearing armor again. Good enough for duels, anyway.
And, as I mentioned, or meant to, it’s a slash and chop martial art, designed to cut through samurai armor. Try this on full plate, and you’re probably in a world of hurt. So some stepping and chopping from overhead strikes. I wonder how well I could pick it up from some of the diamond footwork drills I’ve learned (and included in Boxing Drill Companion, available on the Apple App Store!). Simple research indicates there are three kendo dojos in Missouri, none in Springfield, and my dojo only trains sticks these days (in the past, we did some sword work, other weapons, and other styles, but that was a long, long time ago).
I’m thinking about going through some of the thinner martial arts books I’ve got to continue with the breaks from the homeworkish reading. It makes me feel like a martial artist in a period where I’ve gone through a little lull in my studies due to many circumstances, only one of which is that I’m lazy and feeling old at the same time.
