at my brother’s Engineering Graduation – it was a hot day and we we’re baking inside the Greek Theater…..i remember seeing this tall white guy talking to my bro. You could totally tell he wasn’t a college student…..what struck me as off was that he was wearing a black jacket on this hot day. He didn’t look like he was sweating. He handed my bro a gift…..
never told me what it was.
Apparently, the dude was his Sensei from his
Iaido dojo. My brother was an Iaidoka – a student of the Japanese art of sword fighting – for a majority if his college career.
An in-depth reading of the Japanese characters for iaido is: I = being, AI = harmony, DO = way . “The way of harmonising oneself in action”.
My bro had this wooden Bokken, that he used in the beginning….apparently it was one of the shortest swords used. He’s a small guy. Eventually he invested $500 into a real sword – tailored to his height and body. He also made a $50 bid on Ebay to acquire the “Highlander” sword – just for kicks….
I remember talking to him about how the Home Shopping Network would market their swords – they had some redneck hunting dude extolling how sharp these Japanese swords were……sharp enough to take with you on a hunting weekend – and to do your skinning – after the kill…..my brother and I were quite appalled by such hick mentality……