![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Last night I went with H to his Iaido class (it's a Japanese martial art, involving the individual practice of swordsmanship). He hadn't been in a while, and it was utterly new to me, as was the whole martial arts "thing". The whole thing went for rather longer than I'd expected- I was expecting it to go for about an hour and a half, and instead it was over 2 hours. That was rather a long time for a first venture (not that it's so terribly likely that there will be a second venture... so maybe it's good that I got a fuller experience).
His teacher is quite an interesting individual- at least, his public presentation is interesting and his way of introducing someone to it is fascinating. He started with a whole history lesson (in which I realized that the only things I really know about Japanese history are a couple of tidbits that I got from a world music class, and one or two details I've picked up from reading [Unknown site tag]'s LJ), working his way up from nearly a thousand years ago to the present day, meaning his own training and who his teachers are and have been. It's a different approach to history than the ones I usually take, but a fascinating one- and he's a fabulous storyteller. I was less enamored of his tendency to ask questions where he clearly wanted one, specific answer. A few are fine, he used the technique a bit too much for my taste.
Then, after the lecture had gone on to include physics and math (talking about how a sword and the proper, careful use thereof magnifies force by concentrating the area from wider to a tiny point), I was handed a sword and shown how to draw and sheath it, and then how to make a basic movement, and set to practicing those things.
I found myself feeling very shy and tentative throughout the experience, until quite close to the end. Some of it was just that it was a very new sort of physical activity, newer to me than anything I've done since I started dancing in middle school, I think. The other is that it was not a particularly feminine sort of pursuit, and while that oughtn't stop me, it does clash a bit with how I've built up my self-image, and who I like to be, most of the time.
The whole thing, including the lecture on why Iaido is good for concentration, personal development, etc, was pretty persuasive. Still not sure that I'd go back- but I do see why H enjoys it, and why it is good for him. It was definitely a beneficial experience- and a fascinating one.
His teacher is quite an interesting individual- at least, his public presentation is interesting and his way of introducing someone to it is fascinating. He started with a whole history lesson (in which I realized that the only things I really know about Japanese history are a couple of tidbits that I got from a world music class, and one or two details I've picked up from reading [Unknown site tag]'s LJ), working his way up from nearly a thousand years ago to the present day, meaning his own training and who his teachers are and have been. It's a different approach to history than the ones I usually take, but a fascinating one- and he's a fabulous storyteller. I was less enamored of his tendency to ask questions where he clearly wanted one, specific answer. A few are fine, he used the technique a bit too much for my taste.
Then, after the lecture had gone on to include physics and math (talking about how a sword and the proper, careful use thereof magnifies force by concentrating the area from wider to a tiny point), I was handed a sword and shown how to draw and sheath it, and then how to make a basic movement, and set to practicing those things.
I found myself feeling very shy and tentative throughout the experience, until quite close to the end. Some of it was just that it was a very new sort of physical activity, newer to me than anything I've done since I started dancing in middle school, I think. The other is that it was not a particularly feminine sort of pursuit, and while that oughtn't stop me, it does clash a bit with how I've built up my self-image, and who I like to be, most of the time.
The whole thing, including the lecture on why Iaido is good for concentration, personal development, etc, was pretty persuasive. Still not sure that I'd go back- but I do see why H enjoys it, and why it is good for him. It was definitely a beneficial experience- and a fascinating one.
From: (Anonymous)
no subject