Learning from something different

A couple of months ago I related how I had recently purchased a bokken or wooden Japanese training sword. Since that last post I have been practising as best I can using a book by Dave Lowry, "Bokken: The Art of the Japanese Sword". It has proven an interesting experience so far and this morning I decided to try something new. I have so far been working on movement, cutting down, cutting at an angle and thrusting. Today I decided to try Yoko Uchi or side strike, which involves swinging the blade in a lateral movement. This technique is even more alien to anything I have tried in my fencing career and it is always difficult to try and learn something from a book without any visual clues or cues apart from pictures. However, I persevered and after a while had the approximation of the swing without the foot movement. But as soon as I tried to complete the strike with the correct foot movement it all started to go wrong. It took me a while to realise that the strike had to be completed just as the rear foot moved through and grounded, rather than as the foot was moving. A fraction of a second either way and there was no control in the strike and it felt like swinging a baseball bat instead of a sword. Once the strike completion and foot grounding were coordinated it simply felt right. This revelation applies to many fencing techniques. If you attack when unbalanced it can lead to failure. You should look to pick off an opponent as their feet are moving. Ripostes are more solid when grounded etc. Alos, a fencer instinctively knows when they are fencing correctly. The trick is to learn from it. It's funny how principles can apply across disciplines and traditions. What more will I learn? I think there's something about breathing forming in my mind but I have not yet grasped it........