Yesterday, Tuesday night, I was at Kung Fu. I arrived late. At about 20 minutes into the class. My sensei was angry at me. I'm supposed to set a good example and such. I was late because I have to rely on my parents to get there. It is, to my nearest approximation, 3 minutes away. It took me 20 minutes to get there. Why? Because they had to wait until they felt satisfied enough to get up and take me. If I had that drivers license of mine I could get myself there in no time flat. Since my bike was stolen, I can't get there so easily and it would be a waste to take the bus since it's so close. It takes 2 hours by foot and a half our by bike. Well, I walked in there... They were practising side kicks. I quickly did a stretch and then got started. Even though I didn't stretch that much to begin with, I was surprisingly more nimble, which is an improvement. So then we did about 10 minutes of practising kicking over the chairs. Then after that we all lined up to practice blocking. 4 different lines with certain orders there were. So then we'd go against the Sempai's Shinai and block it. I seriously need to work on my blocking. Then after that he sat us all down and he wanted to do a Shinai tournament. My sensei: he was eyeing me because I was late and he was angry at me for certain things. All throughout the class he was referring to me in the terms that he uses when he's angry at me - calling me "black man" and talking about me visualizing rebelling against some master on some plantation. Those things don't get me angry. Neither me or any of my relatives or ancestors were never even saw a plantation. My family is European and my ancestry is Ethiopian. Anywho... So after Cammy and Brian fought each other, he set me against Wick. He's a black-belt in Karate. After we stood there and were about to fight each other, he stopped us and he wanted the both of us to go against him. I was ready to do it. I bowed and got ready. Then Wick sucker-sliced me and I sat down. Then the sensei killed him three times. Then it was my turn. I went against Wick. We went 6 rounds. Six bloody rounds, killing each other. He got me 3 times and I got him 3 times but I won the last two so the skillful sensei declared me the winner. I faught so swiftly. He was talking to the class about how impressive my speed was and that he suspected that I had been practising independently. Once I sliced Wick twice - once in the stomach and then in the back in one attack and then blocked all of his attacks. So then after that, he decided to face me. And he gave me the most rock-hard look he had ever given me. The true stare of the Samurai. Of a true Bushi warrior. It was frightening. So I did my best. I faced him and I tried to make my stance as perfect as possible. He was inching forward. I kept my sword close. I wasn't thinking about preserving my own life, I was thinking about taking his. I readyed my Shinai for an attack. I attacked, he killed me right there. Instant death. So then we went again. This time, I wasn't as ready to attack. I was on defensive mode. When you're facing your opponent and it's his life or yours, there isn't much to think about. There's no life flashing before your eyes, there's only him and his eyes. I was watching his eyes. The entire time he never took them from mine. That's the way that a good Samurai fights. If you take your eyes off of your opponent, you're already dead. And I did just that. I knew I was doomed, but I also knew that I had a chance. Something inside of me told me to block every single one of his blows. He was creeping forward slowly and I was creeping backward at the same rate. We went so far that I hit a chair that was at the front of the door. We took the time to walk back to the middle of the room. I did the same thing and he was starting to get frustrated and so we walked back. There was no bowing and therefore no more respect. I got back into stance. He gave me a dark grimace. I made the mistake of looking away from his eyes. That was when he made his attack. I think he struck 12 times. The attack must have last about 3 seconds. He's that fast. I blocked every strike. But then he got my leg. That's when I broke the last of my defenses and he was able to cut off my arm. After then I was attacking on one leg and one arm. He made another attack and I lost the other. I accepted defeat. He gave me a swift death with one swipe of the Shinai.
As you can see, I enjoy Kendo. Kendo is like Japanese fencing. It's the sword-art of the Samurai. It literally means 'way of the blade.' Bushido is the 'way of the bushi' and a Bushi is like a warrior of the sword. I'm privelidged to know what I know. I love to practice. I want to know more. There's so much more. And that's what my sensei used to defeat me. I was using basic moves and he was using a style I hadn't learned yet. So maybe if I learned everything from him, I'd stand a better chance. I don't attack very well because I am a pacifist. I am nonviolent, but I will defend this life that God gave me or the life of others if I must. I know I can defeat him next time. I simply need more work and more knowledge.
