Fun fact: there was a strange bout of an Indian summer the week before our shoot, with the Japanese capital reaching highs of 28☌ despite it being early in December. Such is the 26-year-old’s infectious charm her sunny disposition was also a welcome contrast to the sobering downpour that unexpectedly enshrouded Tokyo. “It’s actually pronounced dō itashimashite, but if you say it fast enough to an English speaker, it sounds like you’re telling someone not to touch your moustache!” Laughter ensued, and needless to say, I’ve been using that phrase ever since. She was merely teaching me how to say “you’re welcome” phonetically in her native Japanese. But before you jump to any conclusions, no, the Japanese supermodel doesn’t have a moustache-nor was I touching one. “Don’t touch my moustache!” Hikari Mori exclaimed, as I was getting her dressed in an origami-esque ’80s cocktail dress by Louis Vuitton for Harper’s BAZAAR Malaysia’s February 2019 cover story. No claims of superiority, just loads of honest curiosity and a willingness to have all of our assumptions and preconceptions shattered.Dress earrings bracelets and rings, all from Louis Vuitton For three days we’d train and ask questions and then train and ask questions some more. A particularly thick-skulled judoka who was sure he’d seen pretty much all there was to see in Japan got schooled in just how limited his experience really was. Lots of people from all sorts of arts developed an interest in jodo. I saw sword people conclude that some of those “dinky” weapons weren’t so silly after all. I saw experienced aikidoka go from thinking they knew something about swords to deciding that they really needed to take up a sword art. Afterwards we’d all go out for dinner and quiz each other about everything we’d seen and try to get answers to some of the million or so questions that leapt into our minds while we were trying all of this new stuff. In one weekend I got to do jujutsu and naginata, a couple of styles of iai, maybe some jutte or spear, and a little kyudo. He invited all sorts of senior teachers from various koryu to Guelph, and we’d each teach a 2 hour introduction to some aspect of our art. Kim Taylor used to host the best cross-training event I’ve ever been to. Just doing something outside your specialty can open your eyes and clear out myths. They enjoy my attempts to counter attack in the middle of their techniques, and the challenge of finding ways to stop me. Since then I’ve gotten to know some great aikidoka with exposure to judo. That’s not a problem with aikido, it’s a problem with training. I didn’t know about that assumption, so I surprised quite a few people when I counter attacked while being thrown or even as I was being slammed into the mat. Many people in aikido assumed that once uke was off balance and being thrown, the action was over. That became interesting for me when I started training with aikidoka from time to time. It’s over when both people agree it’s over, especially in dojo randori where you’re not competing for points. For example, we don’t make an assumption about when the fight is over. Judoka make all sorts of assumptions for training purposes that are silly outside the dojo but are perfectly reasonable from the perspective of making regular training safe. Action must be appropriate to the situation.Ī little cross training can open up whole vistas of realizations. Right, you move when uchitachi has committed to the thrust and youĭeflect the sword tip just enough to miss but not so far that the sword canĬome in through a new opening. Overreact you block the thrust but leave yourself open to a number of follow-upĪttacks that flow smoothly from your excess movement. When uchitachi thrustsĭuring Sakan, if you don’t act you will be stabbed in the gut. Where overreacting is nearly as bad as failing to act. Where action is essential to not getting hit in the head with a weapon, but I can think of many kata in Shinto Muso Ryu Lessons about moving enough, but not too much, emphasize the need to respondĪppropriately to whatever happens. Learning this is solid preparation for life outside the dojo. Just how narrow the difference between success and failure, life and death, Whack that would be deadly with live weapons. Most koryu budo kataĪre paired, and being off just a little for either person can result in a nasty We stare death in the face with every kata we practice. Budo reminds us, every practice, of our limits.
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