Schools That Teach Odd Methods of Using the Long Sword

SCHOOLS THAT TEACH ODD METHODS OF USING THE LONG SWORD

Clever people do not understand temperance of spirit. Clever techniques shown to beginning students in other schools are very dangerous to the unformed mind. They seek to trick people by dancing and jumping and switching hands. This is stupidity and it does nothing to enhance the reputation of the warrior. It is because of these people that commoners despise the warrior mentality, for commoners are not shown the true Way. Clever people teach that no one can beat them because of their superior technique. They belittle others who have different methods. They try to bully others into following their Way. Some teachers think that by impressing students with their own skills they can convert them to their way of thinking. These are terrible things to do and I despise those who practice this method of teaching. They do not understand the true Way of the warrior. They have probably not had experience in real battle and only play at what they do. In the heat of battle the “spirit of the thing itself ” will reveal its disgust towards those who practice in this manner. They will lose the Way and be beaten in fights.

There is only one way to kill the enemy. The Way is to kill the enemy with one stroke. Killing by “cutting” is totally different from killing by “slashing,” “slashing” being every other way to kill besides that of the warrior “cut.” Anyone can kill anyone for any reason at any time. It is foolish to think that someone who is untrained cannot kill. The Way of the warrior is to kill as a Way of being and not merely for the result itself. Strategy teaches the appropriate manner in which to kill correctly and without hesitation. The intense training that a warrior goes through teaches this simple lesson. Being known as a warrior is a very substantive thing. It is never taken lightly, especially by other warriors, if they are true warriors and not merely braggarts from another school or system.

To practice your craft as a warrior takes a tremendous amount of devotion and you must understand the need for frustration while you are training. Few can understand this, to their discredit.

You absolutely must believe in what you are doing and you must practice it with the intention of laying down your life for it, if the “spirit of the thing itself ” requires you to do so. The reason true warriors are fierce is because their training is fierce. Ponder this over and over.

Regardless, you must maintain the proper form and balance while training and while not training. Maintain respect for others and respect for your own way. Not to do so is moronic. Maintain the proper attitudes towards the Way and permit the Way to proceed through you based on your own resolve. The method is to go straight in and it is undoubtedly the hardest method to master. That is why you must constantly practice and not merely take up the sword as a novel way of spending time. You can, of course, if you only want to make a hobby out of attaining perfection. That, however, is not the true Way.