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Meanwhile, the heavyweights formed a territory of their own on the dojo floor. Serious young judo competitors are some of the largest, strongest, and fastest martial artists I saw while living in Japan. At the same time several elderly, white-haired men with low-slung black belts floated among the various components of the class, visiting, answering questions, and demonstrating, after which those they engaged would bow very deeply as the elders completed their instructions and moved on. On another part of the judo floor earnest senior students taught basic throws to the beginners. The pattern of practice had a feeling of the eternal.

Kendo: The Way of the Sword

The signature weapon of the samurai was the sword. It was everything to the warrior and has been called the soul of the samurai. Swordsmanship, as opposed to mere hacking away at an enemy with a bladed weapon, dates to as early as 789 A.D., when kumitachi (sword exercises) were used in the instruction of the sons of the kuge (noblemen) at the court in Nara. Its roots no doubt go back ever farther, perhaps even a thousand years earlier.