Product Review: Japanese sword, tanto

In my opinion there are two sorts of sword collectors: the display artist and the appreciator.

I'm not saying the 'appreciator' doesn't also display and enjoy the aesthetic of their swords but there is a distinct difference between the appreciation of swords for their intrinsic, historical value and the appreciation of swords for only how they look hung on the wall.


I was approached by Swords of The East to write up a product review and as my initial interaction with James at SOTE was very good I thought…why not! SOTE sells all manner of swords, katana and tanto as well as other historical replicas. James has a very professional manner and I was impressed with his customer service. He kept me up to date with the whole delivery process and I received it when he said, although I had a nasty surtax surprise of 35 Euro-bucks to pay for the delivery to Brussels. Ho-hum.

For a glossary of sword parts follow here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_sword#Anatomy

And so to the tanto. This musashi ceremonial tanto is delivered in a cloth bag within an ornate box and includes a with a jade ornament with tassel. The tanto itself certainly seems to have all the right features on it such as a hamon and yokote but it just doesn't feel the real deal to me. The blade isn't quite straight (although it does fit snugly into the saya) and the proportions of the tanto handle and the blade don't appeal to me with the tanto blade seeming too thin to me. Furthermore the shitodome fitting (where the hole on the side of the scabbard is) is not of the highest quality. In short this is a modern, Chinese made display tanto and not my cup of tea. I would put the money for this towards something more expensive but authentic.

The positive side to this, though, is that when you buy this tanto from SOTE you'll get good service and frankly, a piece of kit at a reasonable price. It's pretty and those people looking for an ornate 'hanger' probably won't be disappointed at all.

Killing Machine

I have a deep, dark and for a martial artist, a terrible, terrible secret. It's ok though. I'm happy with myself. I can say it... I'm a martial artist and I don't like martial arts films.

Gasp.

I know.

I've even had some people say to me that the reason they started practicing martial arts was because of the Bruce Lee films they saw! Dutifully I've tried. I really have but the best I can say about them is that they're crap. None of the fancy choreography or fight sequences do anything for me.

Sadly the latest film I watched called 'Killing Machine' (1976) didn't really change my mind either. It's fairly rough and ready and quite badly put together and cliche is piled upon cliche so I hardly warmed to it. There is, however, quite an interesting story underpinning the whole film, that this is the (unofficial) biography of Shorinji Kempo. So for me to say the fight sequences are lame might put me on thin ice. There's plenty for kenshi to enjoy in the film but you'd think that the only technique in Shorinji Kempo was gyaku gote!

The actors are quite obviously trained kenshi and this raises the film somewhat but it can't mask the true nature of this film and that is as a corporate video. OK so it's the way they might do corporate videos in 1976! The film shows the development of Shorinji Kempo after the war and the hot-headed Doshin So's efforts to create a dojo for the betterment of the common people. These are fine fundamentals and they still remain at the heart of kempo. As such the film does have a certain inherent value but I'd say only for the die hard Kenshi or maybe martial arts film geek. Sonny Chiba is 'good' in the film.

Bit cheesy, good kempo moves from Chiba, interesting as a training/research 'aid' or insight.

Zen in the Art of Archery

I finished reading Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel soon after I started reading it. Not because it's rubbish but because it's a slim book and a brisk read with plenty to chew on. At times Herrigel gets a bit caught up in the whole Zen idea of one's position of self in the world and also it having been translated from German in 1953 meant that in places it was hard going. Such a great read about a trainee Kyudoka in Japan in the early 1920s. Fantastic insight into not only the training regimen but the mental difficulties and obstacles to be encountered along the way. This gives much food for thought about my own journey in the martial arts. For me, I concluded from the story that:

a. I think (and worry) too much,

b. I don't train enough. 

Maybe I should blog less and train more. That's certainly an idea!

Herrigel was a philosophy lecturer and by his own admission was fascinated by Zen and as such peppers the book with ideas of how his kyudo teacher would impart Zen wisdom on him. Trouble is that his teacher, Awa Keno, was not a Zen Buddhist. What he taught was the 'Great Doctrine' or Daishakyôdô (The Way of the Great Doctrine of Shooting) which Herrigel and a Japanese writer on Zen (D. T. Suzuki) maintained was Zen much later and without advice of Awa Sensei!

It's certainly a good (brief) insight into training methods in the martial arts but from what I understand from reading around Herrigel, the aspects of Zen should be taken with a pinch of salt. Check out this article which states:

As we were walking out the front of the building, I asked our host, "Did Awa write anything, anything I could read?"

"No," he said. "There is nothing. And that German fellow, is a bad, very bad influence."

Here is another rebuttal of Herrigel's work.

Related post here.

Autumn Lightning - The Education of an American Samurai by Dave Lowry. A Book Review.

Autumn lightning details not only Dave Lowry's apprenticeship and learning process with the Japanese sword but also the lineage of the style he practices: Yagyu Shinkage ryu weaving the two themes together with relevant insights and inner thought processes. This book is compelling as it is a personal journey which reflects the ancient philosophies and practices upon which this particular ryu was founded giving two aspects to this bugeisha's lifelong journey.

Don't be misled into thinking this is simply a narrative of Lowry's day to day training nor a dry recounting of the ryu's inception and subsequent history! Lowry also works in a lot of feeling about traditional martial arts and underlying philosophies which for me, as a martial artist, help make sense of some of the more esoteric aspects of budo. Easily readable this book covers some interesting concepts such as the spiritual side of training, the hard physical obligation of training, mushin, musogi and much more. 159 pages long in my version and with a good writing style I reckon there's no reason not to make this part of your martial arts reference library.

Book reviews

Traditions: Essays on the Japanese Martial Arts and Ways (Tuttle Martial Arts),

I'm a big fan of the Dave Lowry series of books which give helpful insights into the bridge between martial arts and our daily lives.

Living the Martial Way : A Manual for the Way a Modern Warrior Should Think,

Written by a committed and dedicated martial artist who's been around the block and come back to his house with a load of bruises, experience and a different take on how to progress in the martial ways.

Zen in the Martial Arts, 

Good short read about the contemplative side to the martial ways.

Moving Toward Stillness: Lessons in Daily Life from the Martial Ways of Japan,

Fantastic insights into how Dave Lowry leads his life through martial ways. This is not a technical tutoring book but what you learn from this anthology of short essays can help your attitude towards your martial training as well as in your daily life.