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

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I suppose some might continue to insist that a kachinuki-style shiai is unfair. There is not much good argument against that position. Kachinuki shiai is unfair, no doubt about it. It is unfair in the same sense battlefield combat is unfair, or that a real-life self-defense situation is unfair. There are no warm-ups under those circumstances either, or resting periods. Kachinuki shiai is unfair. Which is, as those of us fortunate enough to experience it have learned, a pretty good way to train for the unfairness of much of the rest of life.

Uke-Waza (The Art of Taking It)

Anyone whose budo practice partners have included Hawaiians soon learns, as I did, the importance of “talk story.” At the university judo club where I began my judo training, some of the members were from Hawaii. Since I was still in high school, these college boys and girls were like older brothers and sisters to me, and I always felt privileged to sit in and listen to their “talk story,” a pidgin Hawaiian phrase to describe what elsewhere might be called “bull sessions.” Most evenings, after judo practice was done, we would gather on the mats and discuss everything from politics to great meals to—these being university students, after all—sex. The talk story often centered around the budo. That’s what we were discussing one night. Specifically, the topic was about the toughest individuals we had each encountered. One of the group told of another judoka he had trained with in Japan, a Japanese champion who had thrown opponents so hard that even using proper breakfalls, they were knocked unconscious by the force of hitting the mat. Another recounted the abilities of a Chinese martial artist he’d met who could employ vicious footsweeps that literally somersaulted his opponents. These stories went on and on. One fellow said the toughest people he’d ever met were Special Forces personnel in Vietnam; another insisted it was the British SAS teams.