“Before even touching a sword you should practice with a stick for 2 years”
The sword course, since the very first day, has been incredibly interesting. And hard.
I was practicing sword back home but here I realized how much I’m lacking in sword basics. The big bamboo stick proved me constantly how weak my wrist is and how long is my way towards improvement.
“Before even touching a sword you should practice with a stick for 2 years”, we of course don’t have 2 years to spend at the temple but I couldn’t agree more with that statement.
Using a sword after weeks of big, uncomfortable bamboo stick is a fantastic, deep and spiritual feeling. Even if very simple, a great change in perspective happens: from the rounded stick to two sided flat/sharp blade. Your mind is calling for help!
The sword form is pure beauty. As for the Babu, you can see from the very beginning the extraordinary unification of kung fu and the Dao and then you get overwhelmed by the fascinating flow of such different movements and positions that test your body like an inflexible jury. For tough that it could sound I’m very happy about it!
Only when you feel very tired, uncomfortable and covered in swet, when your mind keeps telling you to stop but you just keep going, only then you feel that something is happening, that you are achieving a goal. You realise that you are strengthening the connection with the sword and that inside you there’s much more than you ever thought.
written by: CLAUDIO
