Читать книгу Traditions. Essays on the Japanese Martial Arts and Ways онлайн

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As he matured, Kofujita became a bit calmer and more circumspect. Yet he never lost his enthusiasm for swordsmanship and for perfecting his technique in the art. He worked tirelessly for years on the basics of the Itto style of fencing. He taught many students of his own and in time came to be recognized as an authority on swordsmanship and as a shihan, literally, a “model for all others.” Not long before Kofujita’s master, Ittosai, retired from teaching, he gave Kofujita permission to open his own school. Ittosai seemed to realize that Kofujita was enough a master in his own right that his contributions allowed him to found an offshoot of the Itto style, which Kofujita christened the Yuishin Itto ryu.

One day Kofujita was out practicing in his garden when a visitor stopped by to see him, an old friend who’d grown up with him and had trained at the Itto dojo. A servant led the friend into the garden where Kofujita was standing alone, barely moving, just lifting the sword in his hands up a few inches and letting it drop, twisting his hips slightly. The friend saw that Kofujita was practicing at using his hips to precede the action of striking. It was the very first lesson an Itto ryu swordsman learned upon entering training. He wondered why a brilliant master like Kofujita was so intently working at this simple exercise. As he drew closer, however, he saw that the master was furiously at it, his whole being centered on the motion. When Kofujita looked up at his old friend, there were tears in his eyes.