A few more words from Yagyu Munenori...
Another couple of extracts from the Shinkage Ryu Master...
"A hasty attack is an exceptionally bad thing. The thing is to press aggressively only after having properly prepared yourself mentally and having observed the situation thoroughly once the face-off has begun. It is essential not to get flustered."
"When an opponent is startled and the feeling of opposition is distracted, the opponent will experience a gap in reaction time. Even simple, ordinary gestures like raising your hand are used to distract an opponent's attention."
It never ceases to amaze me how relevant words written 500 years ago in another country, about a totally different world (i.e potentially lethal combat) are so directly relevant to my chosen sport and past time (i.e. a highly diluted martial tradition turned into sport). OK, they take a bit of thinking about but that's why we fence isn't it? I guess this is why I enjoy what I do in the fencing world; it's more than a sport, it's more than just coaching, it's a way of seeing and moving with things.
A friend once said to me "fencing is fundamental to my well-being". I think it's the same for me.
"A hasty attack is an exceptionally bad thing. The thing is to press aggressively only after having properly prepared yourself mentally and having observed the situation thoroughly once the face-off has begun. It is essential not to get flustered."
"When an opponent is startled and the feeling of opposition is distracted, the opponent will experience a gap in reaction time. Even simple, ordinary gestures like raising your hand are used to distract an opponent's attention."
It never ceases to amaze me how relevant words written 500 years ago in another country, about a totally different world (i.e potentially lethal combat) are so directly relevant to my chosen sport and past time (i.e. a highly diluted martial tradition turned into sport). OK, they take a bit of thinking about but that's why we fence isn't it? I guess this is why I enjoy what I do in the fencing world; it's more than a sport, it's more than just coaching, it's a way of seeing and moving with things.
A friend once said to me "fencing is fundamental to my well-being". I think it's the same for me.
posted by Dave at
8:07 PM
1 Comments:
What an excellent quote - particularly the bit about distraction 'removing the sense of opposition' and thus impeding the opponent's reaction.
Food for thought.
Jai
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