Today, Suzu and I are practicing Kendo.
Kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, which descended from kenjutsu and uses bamboo swords, shinai and protective armour, bogu. It is a martial art that combines practices and values with strenuous sport-like physical activity.
Suzu, who is a kyoshi roku-dan title holder, was was and quick with the feet. She was among Top 10 female kendoka in the world and among the reason was hired by Katashi to train his members.
Both are wearing the traditional Japanese style of clothing, protective armour bogu and a shinai, a katana made of four bamboo slats, held together by leather fittings. Katashi insists on using the training using the traditional shinai instead of the modern carbon fiber reinforced resin slats.
We also are wearing the traditional protective armour is worn to protect specified target areas on the head, arms and body. The head is protected by a stylised helmet, called men , with a metal grille to protect the face, a series of hard leather and fabric flaps to protect the throat, and padded fabric flaps to protect the side of the neck and shoulders. The forearms, wrists, and hands are protected by long, thickly padded fabric gloves called kote. The torso is protected by a dō, while the waist and groin area is protected by the tare, consisting of three thick vertical fabric flaps or faulds.
It was a hassle at first for me when practised using the traditional garments, but I soon realised that the barrier was just in my head. It was easy to move and manoeuvre using the shinai using the technique Suzu taught.
I know I am almost as good as Suzu, but I have never yet managed to beat her in trainings.
Today, I aim to do so.
I attack, letting out a kiai, a shout, execute a fumikomi-ashi, stamping my front foot forward, and try to make a strike towards Suzu's wrist.
She predicted the move and swiftly move a foot to her left, and thrusts towards my throat. I defended using my shinai, ward off her shinai using medium force as I move my body closer to her to swiftly strike towards her torso area.
But she was quicker, years of experience helped her to predict my moves, she quickly strikes against my shinai, hard, that it rattles and lose from my grip. She thrusts her shinai to my throat, stopping an inch.
"I won, again."
Emiko did not bother acknowledge.
