One Way—Two Swords

WHY I CALL MY SCHOOL

“ONE WAY—TWO SWORDS”

It is common for a warrior to carry two swords. One is a long sword and the other is a short sword. The names for the swords vary from place to place and time to time. My school teaches the proper use of both swords in combat even though a warrior can rely on either one or the other. Spears, lances and bows with arrows are generally used out of doors, as is the sword. Swords are used indoors and outdoors but mainly for close combat. You must be able to wield the swords in any situation. The comparison between halberds, spears, bows and arrows is evident and makes perfect sense in the context of a combat situation. The sword is easier to deal with regardless of the terrain where you happen to be fighting. At the beginning of training, lances, spears, and other weapons are certain to prove difficult, especially if you have never had experience with them. But in time all things work to your advantage when you pursue them with an open heart. I insist that my students start their training with both swords in either hand. In a combat situation you must understand how to make complete use of your weapons. Any other reasoning is foolish. If you are going to die in battle then you should do so with the utmost respectability and dignity. It is a terrible shame to die in battle with your sword undrawn or yourself unable to use it correctly. Because my system employs both swords, a warrior must hold the sword in one hand. It is hard to use a sword correctly when it is held with both hands. You are also limited to the use of the one sword when the other sword remains passive. A drawn weapon is a killing device and must be used as such. It is not for play.

Whatever your determination or will-power, it is foolish to try to change the nature of things. Things work the way they do because that is the Way of things. The warrior should fully understand the nature of the weapon he is using. The long sword is used in a broad manner and the short sword for in-close combat.

Your choice of weapons does not make much difference if you understand their nature. You must also understand the purpose of their existence as well. Once this is done, you will then be able to wield any weapon that you have trained with if you have trained with all your heart. The main idea of my Way of strategy is to win. There is nothing else.

The following is a philosophical truth. One thing does one thing, two things do four things. Think this through. If you are fighting a crowd or controlling a group, it is better to use two swords than one.

It is very hard to explain these ideas in detail because of their intuitive nature. Once you have understood the depth of the thing you are studying, the “spirit” of all things will reveal itself to you.

To master the long sword is to be a master of strategy in my school. The sword has long been called the “soul of the warrior.” There is a closeness between the warrior and his weapon. All weapons are warrior’s equipment and a part of strategy. When a warrior is master of the long sword, he can rule the world; he can certainly beat ten men or more in combat. To further illustrate my point, consider the unarmed warrior as being even closer to the ideal because no weapon other than “empty hands” is used. To go still further, consider the attitude of “thing-nothing”—an attitude which must not be confused with the concept of “nothing” which is still “something” by definition. The sword is a physical object and is feared by most men, warriors or not.

The craft of the warrior and his Way is the only thing that deals directly with physical living and physical dying. Other arts do not. To understand the Universe one must be in accord with the truths of other matters in order to understand more deeply the conviction needed to pursue the Way of the warrior. Other Ways do not deal with life and death. They deal with ideas that may or may not be acceptable to others. There is a significant difference between beating a man intellectually and physically taking his life. We live in a physical world and are governed much more by the things that can affect us physically than by psychological brow-beating.