The Way of Sensei Wu

Art: https://aikidoclube.blogspot.com/2012/09/29.html



To welcome their guests, and also to keep them away from the monastery proper while they deal with even more last minute logistics issues, Sensei's Wu top (and only so far) students have organized a bōjutsu demonstration.

On paper, it is a by-the-book session. A series of kata, then two-people exercises, then a sparring match. The setting however is unusual. Spectators watch from behind a set of ropes that define the training grounds, a grand name for what is nothing else than the side of the mountain in its leaning glory, a descending pile of rock and ice stretching between the monastery and a thicket below.

It is cold and there is a light wind, but the sky is clear and visibility excellent.

The two youngsters certainly know what they are doing, and even total neophytes about martial arts will notice that their form is truly impressive, the like of which would not be out of place among the militant orders or in a bushi dojo. They tirelessly strike, shift position, parry, jump, unhinged by the difficult terrain.

It is sometimes difficult to identify who's Hiro and who's Haruhi when they're circling around each other as they are in close to perfect sync, with no easily noticeable gap in their skill or form.

Only when they, from time to time, turn to address their audience, to give a few explanations or tease what's coming next, does the difference becomes really obvious. Haruhi talks of practical usages of the techniques, how they can deflect blows or disable an assailant. Hiro discusses of the good there is in learning them more than using them, how the training itself improves the body and thus the mind.

Akimitsu was curious about a first hand demonstration of the sort of skills he had come to learn. When he heard a sort of exercise was being put on he would certainly be in attendance.

The Imperial had left his armor in his quarters as it seemed a bit garish to wear it walking about. He instead stood in his workout outfit simple, dark colored hakama and top.

His face retained it usually stony stoicism but his dark eyes darted around watching the two monks trade blows in near perfect synch. He admired the skill and dedication it took to reach their level of expertise. There was a faint expression of approval on hos features as he watched.

Another one of the visitors was observing the demonstration as well. Half of his upper-body exposed to the elements, showing off beautiful tattoos of expert craftmanship, it could only be a Togashi. Only they would be that weird to walk around like that in the winter-time.

Thoughtful green eyes track the two novices movements, and as they speak, he nod with understanding and contemplation visible on his face, as if deeply pondering what is shared to him and the other observers.

Bright green eyes follow the flutter of fabric and sharp crack of staves with some appreciation for the pageantry and lithe bodies on display, but very little understanding. It's when they pause to offer explanations that Naoko seems to focus, trying to memorize the words to pass along later to someone who might make more sense of them. Her dark pants resemble peasant wear more than the sharp hakama of courts and civilized dojo, a thick haori covering her top half in protection from the still chilly spring air. All of the ensemble is travelworn and a bit of a contrast to the freshly-painted fox mask.

Still, even one ignorant of the art could catch the mood of the participants and jump a bit with a small thrill of--victory? defeat?--when one of the apprentices was tripped up by the other and slid along the icy ground. Hard to cheer when you weren't really supposed to root for anyone...and they were really hard to tell apart.

Ketsudan fidgets with his headband as he makes his way to watch the exhibition.

He nods, impressed with both the techniques on display and with the clear coordination between the two monks.

But even the sparring seems somewhat like kata, he thinks. As if the left and right hands moving together, almost as in Niten.

The thought strikes him, and he sits up.

But the Founder and the first Successor wrote of such things, did they not? And the Thunder did use a staff, as well...

Soshi Naoko wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 27, 2022 2:49 pm

Bright green eyes follow the flutter of fabric and sharp crack of staves with some appreciation for the pageantry and lithe bodies on display, but very little understanding. It's when they pause to offer explanations that Naoko seems to focus, trying to memorize the words to pass along later to someone who might make more sense of them. Her dark pants resemble peasant wear more than the sharp hakama of courts and civilized dojo, a thick haori covering her top half in protection from the still chilly spring air. All of the ensemble is travelworn and a bit of a contrast to the freshly-painted fox mask.

Still, even one ignorant of the art could catch the mood of the participants and jump a bit with a small thrill of--victory? defeat?--when one of the apprentices was tripped up by the other and slid along the icy ground. Hard to cheer when you weren't really supposed to root for anyone...and they were really hard to tell apart.

Date: Day 1 off the Sweeping Monk Incident
Time: Hour of the Horse
Location: Training Grounds of Circle's End Monastery
Weather: Sunny, clear, cool

An impromptu bojutsu demonstration given by Sensei Wu's top two (and only) students was performed for the guests in the makeshift training grounds. The training grounds consisted of a rope circle and the sensei's assurance this was a training grounds. Much was on display at this demonstration. There was, of course, the martial skill of Hiro and Haruhi. As expected, despite their young age, they showed both skill and wisdom. For they simple did not hit each other with sticks, as a more blunt noble might say, but took the time to both challenge themselves AND explain themselves to the onlookers.
One would hope that one would not waste resources sending samurai out here to learn if they had no interest in learning, but the pair's energy might help galvanize those who had dreamed they would be spending these weeks in a more luxurious location.

There were a good number of samurai in attendance (See Appendix 1) For example, there was a very sensibly dressed Scorpion maiden I had chosen to seat myself next to. While some particularly unimaginative sorts might think the Scorpion suffered from a perennial silk shortage, this one had taken the time to dress herself both warmly and simply. Her brightly colored Fox mask the most flamboyant, and identifiable thing about her. As is normal for any group of samurai witnessing anything outside of a shi duel, hushed conversation seemed the most prudent course, and I engaged in a such with her.

-From the journal of Kitsuki Kindaichi, The Sweeping Monk Incident.

"It is quite a demonstration of student's devotion and sensei's skill, wouldn't you agree, Soshi-san?" he asked the nearby Scorpion in a hushed tone during a brief moment when the pair had finished the latest explanation and were resetting.

Kitsuki Kindaichi wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 28, 2022 1:08 am

<snip>

"It is quite a demonstration of student's devotion and sensei's skill, wouldn't you agree, Soshi-san?" he asked the nearby Scorpion in a hushed tone during a brief moment when the pair had finished the latest explanation and were resetting.

"hmm?!" Her attention shifts, the fox mask's eyeholes revealing bright green eyes as it turns to face the Kitsuki. "Oh...um. Yes, it's pretty devoted to go running around and sliding on this ice. It's not midwinter, but that's still plenty cold." Her own fingers are tucked into the opposite sleeves of her coat, keeping warm.

"Afraid I'm not a good judge of their skill though. They are both very fast...and their explanations seem like they know what they're talking about, neh?" She glances back as the pair trade a flurry of blows and counters, the staves clacking off one another in a rapid chatter. "Are you, ah...versed in the art?"

Soshi Naoko wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 28, 2022 3:52 am

"hmm?!" Her attention shifts, the fox mask's eyeholes revealing bright green eyes as it turns to face the Kitsuki. "Oh...um. Yes, it's pretty devoted to go running around and sliding on this ice. It's not midwinter, but that's still plenty cold." Her own fingers are tucked into the opposite sleeves of her coat, keeping warm.

"Afraid I'm not a good judge of their skill though. They are both very fast...and their explanations seem like they know what they're talking about, neh?" She glances back as the pair trade a flurry of blows and counters, the staves clacking off one another in a rapid chatter. "Are you, ah...versed in the art?"

Kindachi nodded.

"They are certainly on the ball, if not the last word in bojutsu, then at least the last character." he agreed with the Scorpion assessment of their speed.

"Kitsuki Kindachi." he offered introducing himself. "Indeed, I have studied the fundamentals of bojutsu, but I am certainly not at their level yet, though I hope to be someday. And yourself?" he said, asking bot her name and her expertise in bojutsu.

Kitsuki Kindaichi wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 28, 2022 4:49 am

Kindachi nodded.

"They are certainly on the ball, if not the last word in bojutsu, then at least the last character." he agreed with the Scorpion assessment of their speed.

"Kitsuki Kindachi." he offered introducing himself. "Indeed, I have studied the fundamentals of bojutsu, but I am certainly not at their level yet, though I hope to be someday. And yourself?" he said, asking bot her name and her expertise in bojutsu.

"Soshi Naoko, priestess and..rather untutored in the art. I use brooms for sweeping shrines clear." She offers a bit of a bow, not enough to distract from the demonstration. "I guess I'll spend a few days getting hit with them instead." For science..or at least for duty.

Soshi Naoko wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 28, 2022 6:19 am

"Soshi Naoko, priestess and..rather untutored in the art. I use brooms for sweeping shrines clear." She offers a bit of a bow, not enough to distract from the demonstration. "I guess I'll spend a few days getting hit with them instead." For science..or at least for duty.

A small seated bow was offered in return. The demonstration was a blur of sticks clattering together, faster and faster as if a drummer was buying an incredible amount of time for the servants to find his drum. The vocals were quite interesting as well, a melody promising the wonders of bojutsu.

"Ah, you're a long way from An'ei just to give the brooms a chance to sweep you off your feet for a change." he commented as a leg sweep ended the current move set. Hopefully the journey here was a pleasant one?"

Another monk, seemingly a komuso, at first appears to be watching his colleagues intently in their display. Those with keen eyes, however, might notice that the tengai obscured head does not move even when the two demonstrators must have shifted slightly out of line of sight.

Is he asleep? Is he meditating? Is he tracking their motions by some other method? That one could not easily be sure of.

Kitsuki Kindaichi wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 28, 2022 7:03 am

A small seated bow was offered in return. The demonstration was a blur of sticks clattering together, faster and faster as if a drummer was buying an incredible amount of time for the servants to find his drum. The vocals were quite interesting as well, a melody promising the wonders of bojutsu.

"Ah, you're a long way from An'ei just to give the brooms a chance to sweep you off your feet for a change." he commented as a leg sweep ended the current move set. Hopefully the journey here was a pleasant one?"

"Not so far, it's all the same mountains." She grinned at the timing of the sweep and comment, unpainted lips lifting beneath the undimpled solidity of the mask. "But it was fine. The mountains are always pleasant to look at though the snow starting to go rotten makes them a bit treacherous.The sound of the someone landing after evading that leg sweep prompts her to add, "suppose I'll need to learn to fly if anyone's sweeping me off my feet."

"But it's even farther from your mountains, isn't it?" That seemed right. Dragon lived in mountains, and had to be farther off than Scorpion lands.

Soshi Naoko wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 28, 2022 3:00 pm

"Not so far, it's all the same mountains." She grinned at the timing of the sweep and comment, unpainted lips lifting beneath the undimpled solidity of the mask. "But it was fine. The mountains are always pleasant to look at though the snow starting to go rotten makes them a bit treacherous.The sound of the someone landing after evading that leg sweep prompts her to add, "suppose I'll need to learn to fly if anyone's sweeping me off my feet."

"But it's even farther from your mountains, isn't it?" That seemed right. Dragon lived in mountains, and had to be farther off than Scorpion lands.

Kindachi nodded, considering the Scorpion's words and the demonstration.

"Your assertion is most likely correct, Soshi-san, at least as far as an Imperial cartographer would measure it. I am from Surudoi Me Kogeki-Mura. Perhaps Soshi-san is familiar with it?:" he asked, in between even more demonstrations of the art of bojutsu. There certainly were a lot of forms on display today.

She shakes her head. “Not at all. I’ve been assigned not so far from here. Lion border spaces, not Dragon though…and I’ve never been much of a cartographer to learn all the villages elsewhere.” A crack that sounded more like stick on bone than stick on stick makes her wince, though the pair on the training grounds only slows a bit.

“You a guard there?” A possibly unwarranted assumption that anyone trained in weaponry would be assigned in such a fashion.

Soshi Naoko wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:21 pm

She shakes her head. “Not at all. I’ve been assigned not so far from here. Lion border spaces, not Dragon though…and I’ve never been much of a cartographer to learn all the villages elsewhere.” A crack that sounded more like stick on bone than stick on stick makes her wince, though the pair on the training grounds only slows a bit.

“You a guard there?” A possibly unwarranted assumption that anyone trained in weaponry would be assigned in such a fashion.

Kindaichi noted the crack of stick on bone, the slowing of the pair, and the wince from the Scorpion. It painted a very clear picture without direct observation.

"Ah, that would have been much more unfortunate if that had been a sword strike." he mused.

He shook his head a bit at the question though.

"Ah no, I've been assigned as a yoriki on a clan magistrate's staff, Kitsuki Kyouka. We tend to carry a fairly broad swath of the province helping out where we are needed." he admits.

He watches one of the monks pause rubbing the spot of impact a bit before continuing, smiling a bit.

"And yourself, Soshi-san? Do you maintain many shrines along the border? Anyone I might have learned about?" he asks.

She nods at the image of that strike cutting through a hip, then considers what she's heard. "Is the magistrate you work for one that travels a lot, or one that sits in town and lets things come to them?" She'd seen both types in her own journeys.

A small smile shows beneath the pale edge of the mask. "I don't think any of the shrines out there are all that well known, but the mountain tree shrine of Kiyokawa Village gets some pilgrims every year, and not just the really obsessive types trying to see every shrine everywhere. It's probably the oldest tree I've seen. You can tell it fell or was cut down once, then sent new trees up all around the trunk, and they've grown together since. The cut trunk was old and huge and now it's bigger. You could fill two houses from the nuts it drops each year. I carried one for luck for a while, before a squirrel stole it. Maybe it kept the little beast from taking something I'd miss more though."

Soshi Naoko wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 29, 2022 1:33 am

She nods at the image of that strike cutting through a hip, then considers what she's heard. "Is the magistrate you work for one that travels a lot, or one that sits in town and lets things come to them?" She'd seen both types in her own journeys.

A small smile shows beneath the pale edge of the mask. "I don't think any of the shrines out there are all that well known, but the mountain tree shrine of Kiyokawa Village gets some pilgrims every year, and not just the really obsessive types trying to see every shrine everywhere. It's probably the oldest tree I've seen. You can tell it fell or was cut down once, then sent new trees up all around the trunk, and they've grown together since. The cut trunk was old and huge and now it's bigger. You could fill two houses from the nuts it drops each year. I carried one for luck for a while, before a squirrel stole it. Maybe it kept the little beast from taking something I'd miss more though."

The fury of the match resumed as the two monks brought their staffs together, each attempting to either push the other back, or through them off balance. It was an even match so far, but who could say what would happen?

"Ah, Kitsuki-sama is a travelling magistrate, Soshi-san. There's a lot of remote villages in need of protection, and a lot of stretches of wilderness where villains think they might hide themselves. Or sometimes it's the other way around, with those in the wilderness needing protection, and the villains hiding in a remote town. Either way, Kitsuki-sama is both energetic and zealous in the execution of her duties. I once saw her practically leap over a tall wall in pursuit of a criminal. Her record will likely earn her a spot behind a desk someday, but not for a long time." he explained.

He considered the squirrel story thoughtfully.

"Hmm, a shame for your good fortune to pass into the paws of another, Soshi-san." he offered. "Though at least a beast was nourished by it, rather than the nut simply being lost. I wonder how lucky the squirrels around the mountain tree shrine are, having raised generations upon the nourishment of the shrine."

Having spent some time with Haruhi earlier and noticed some shared... something? between her and Hiro made her even more curious about the demonstration.

Not that she wasn't interested to begin with, of course. She had her own bo with her, and kept fiddling with it in her hands throughout the demonstration, although her eyes were focused on the two monks.

Her attention to any others around of course suffering as a result (nothing to do with her player not being around at all for the first day and a half of the game, I swear!)

Doji Riri wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 29, 2022 6:58 am

Having spent some time with Haruhi earlier and noticed some shared... something? between her and Hiro made her even more curious about the demonstration.

Not that she wasn't interested to begin with, of course. She had her own bo with her, and kept fiddling with it in her hands throughout the demonstration, although her eyes were focused on the two monks.

Her attention to any others around of course suffering as a result (nothing to do with her player not being around at all for the first day and a half of the game, I swear!)

Akimitsu looked away from the demonstration for a moment and saw the young woman watching and fidgeting with her own Bo.

He spoke in politely hushed tones "Have you studied the Bo long?" came the simple engagement dark eyes darting down to her features.

Hibiki watched with interest. She carried a staff herself, but she didn't use it as a weapon. It carried her, when she needed something to lean on. The demonstration impressed her and left her a little breathless. Even if she knew the techniques they used, she would have collapsed from exhaustion after a few minutes.