Day 35: Learning to Relax: A Sword Lesson's Update

"That is awesome!" is the usual response I hear when someone hears that I am learning the sword, and I have to agree it is. An antiquated weapon though it may be, it seems to me that people still respect it, and think it is an honorable weapon. There too I have to agree. I would encourage anyone that wishes to learn to take it up. $45 a month for your own personal professional sword trainer for two hours a week is a deal, no matter how you slice it.

Today was the fifth Sword Lesson class I have attended. I will not say that it has gotten easier, but I can tell that my body is getting use to it. Today I was not nearly as tired as the first few lessons (though I have a feeling if Sensei Urso reads that, then next week will be much harder. Advanced apologies to my fellow students Jeff and Matt, pictured down below). The Korean and Japanese vocabulary are becoming more familiar, as are the sword forms and sequences. It is still taxing, and I am glad for the additional exercise.

Oddly, my main challenge has been to learn to relax. Relax you say? Yes. Relax. For most of my life, the physically exertive actives I have taken part in have required strength and brute force. Or at least that is the way in which I probably handled them.

But the sword is different. It is more finesse. Much like like the sport of Golf, it is not strength that defines the ultimate outcome. In Golf if you try to muscle the ball when you hit it, it often does not go where you want it to go. If however you focus on your form and completing the arc of the club head, the ball will(with much practice) amazingly go where you want it to go. The Sword is very similar.

Strength and force are not as important as skill and speed. In order to be fast, you have to relax. If you tense up, it slows you down. And I tend to tense up trying to exert force and strength rather than speed. My shoulders are the main area of problem. Holding the sword out in front of me, I end up leaning forward and carrying the burden through my shoulders, and lateral back muscles. Sensei Urso is constantly telling me to relax my shoulders. He has reassured me that everyone has this problem at first, and that it takes time to learn to relax. I'm starting to grasp it, but it is hard to think about relaxing when you are attacking or defending. I'm sure it will come with time, but until then, it is still a work in progress.

Learning the sword has been very rewarding thus far. Today Sensei Urso asked why we learn the sword. To better ourselves. And why do we better ourselves? For our own reasons? Yes, but more so to benefit society.

This falls inline with why I wanted to undertake this quest. It is not just about me. Ultimately I am trying to show that chivalry does still have a place in society. While society has changed, it does not mean that chivalry has no place in the here and now. It simply means that chivalry too must change to fit the times. A good example of this is actually my sword lessons.

Would knights have learned Kum do/Goshindo sword arts? Of course not, they would have learned the medieval western sword arts. But aren't those different? Slightly, but the core basics are the same. Different vocabulary, but ultimately the same in the end. I am aware that there are western sword lessons available, but I choose to learn from an instructor who has proven credentials and is respected in his field. Others may choose differently. As Sensei Urso has said, you change to fit the school of your training; The school does not change to fit you. And thus I need to learn to relax if I want to progress. It will take time, but all things that are good for us do.

So this is just one way that I have changed chivalry to fit my needs. And in doing so, I hope it will benefit society. God knows we could all use more civility, honor, and manners.

Pictured below are my fellow student Jeff Fauble, Sensei Thomas Urso, and fellow student Matt Bachstein.

Next time with Sensei Urso's permission, I will try to remember to get some action shots.

Until next week,

I am,

Jeffrey R. Daniel