The New Winds

One of the secrets of proper defensive training was to not get hit. But, if that failed, it was infinitely more important that one have a blade in hand o that they could block the next attack, right? Bah, that had nothing to do with it. Saburo simply knew that the Topaz Championship was coming at some point in the very near future and the mere idea of failing to perform at least adequately under the eye of the nationally esteemed and famous Kakita Toshimoko at that event in a thing that was so famous for being one of Isawa Tsuke's own focuses? It was unacceptable.

And so, now that he was certain of his bow work for the moment, he stood in position, hand over his bokken, ready to whip it out with full alacrity. If only he could manage to avoid causing it to yank his obi out of place. That would be ... lovely, thank you.

"Oh, hey there cousin." Sanzo says with a bow.

"What're you up to?" he asks with a raised, curious eyebrow.

He glanced over at the Asako and returned the bow for the moment, his hand going off of the bokken for a moment. "Ah, Cousin, it is good to see you. I am practicing katana and iaijutsu forms and kata. And of yourself?" he rumbled out at the otherwise affable fellow, mildly curious what he had been up to recently.

"Katana and iaido, eh? Not very traditional for a shugenja." He says with a chuckle.

"Me? Oh, I've been busy studying and wandering and practicing. Surprised how well I did on the exams today! Feel like I'm really learning a lot here! Makes me excited for the competition ahead of us, to see how we match up against the rest of the Empire!"

"What about you, though. You doing well? You still on top? I haven't checked the points listing in days."

"I try not to look at the listings. I find it confuses me more than assists me, though I am told that I am still at the top of the postings, yes." He said it off-handedly, the gravel in his voice still strong, his face showing little interest in the topic. He was concerned with it, though he was more or less unsure how to handle the listings themselves.

"I suppose it is an unusual study, though Isawa Tsuke-dono is known for his grace in dueling, and I believe that the Topaz Championship is coming in due course. It would not be right to enter such a thing if I did not at least have familiarity with the actual tournament's method. It is usually an iai duel, I am told."

"Ahhh, certainly, dueling is the big event of the Topaz Championship! I've always heard that shugenja have their own way of dueling, a... taro-jai?" He shrugs, uncertain of the name. "Though, I haven't the slightest idea if they hold such duels at the Championship. Perhaps one of the sensei would know?"

Sanzo looks over at Saburo's stance. "Do you have any experience with kenjutsu or iaido? I could show you a thing or two, if you'd like. Though, I can say with certainty that a bokken really doesn't slide out of the saya quite the same as a katana." The bushi gives a chortle at the notion.

"My understanding is that Taryo-Jiai is only permitted on occasions where the adjudication is between shugenja. In an event such as the Topaz Championship, I sincerely doubt such latitude would be permitted for the primary dueling competition." And that would put any shugenja at a considerable disadvantage in their own regard, though not an impossible one at the very least. Still, he was not about to give over that kind of advantage willingly. "All of the sensei seem more or less aware, though, if you wish to inquire."

The offer of assistance, though, got a quick nod. "I would appreciate it. My familiarity with the use of the sword is minimal. I have utilized it in kata, but there are limits, as you indicate. And, we are only permitted the bokken for now, so it will not be quite the same."

"Ah, yeah, that's it, Taryo-Jiai! Regardless," he says waving a hand as if to dismiss the idea, "a bokken will have to do for now." He goes and fetches one for himself.

"Hmmm..." Sanzo ponders a moment. What would be the most useful for a quick lesson...

"First, you'll want to be familiar with your weapon. It's weight, balance, edge." he says as he casts a dubious look over the bokken's bluntness, and gives a few test swings to check for the other two traits. "Kata and warm ups and exercises help with this." Sanzo goes into some basic kata which he executes with a practiced ease. "It helps to think of your weapon not as a tool, but as an extension of yourself."

Hmmm... ok, yes. That made sense, and he needed practice in kenjutsu as well. So, kata would help him be aware of the balance of it. Sliding it more carefully from his obi, he set it in his hands, feeling the weight of it. It was different than the one he'd had the first day. "A kata seems wise. Warm the limbs... and yes. I have been told it is like an extension... but it is not like a long arm, as in jiujutsu." Ugh. Well, if he ever learned the prayer to form a katana of fire, he had better know how to use one.

Sanzo continues. "As you say, it is not quite the same as an arm. The edge of the blade is what does the cutting. I know, this is obvious, but much of kenjutsu is practicing your strikes, to ensure that this cutting edge stays aligned with your target, to ensure the best cutting. To control the blade and your strike, not just lash out wildly."

He ponders a moment.

"Iaido, though, is a bit more than just being good with a blade. It is about reading your opponent's strengths and weaknesses, sensing the perfect moment, and then striking!" With that last word, Sanzo performs an iaijutsu strike at the air for emphasis.

"Yes, but is it not also the most basic sense the capacity to draw the limb and its extension swiftly? Not only the art of the duel and assessment, but also the capacity to have it at hand in an instant?" As he spoke, he was going through the original kata they had been led in, or at least the portion of it that was intended for kenjutsu. "At what point does one begin the study of iaido?"

"Hm? Ah, yes, the swift draw. That's part of the strike. It is both performing the draw, and determining when to do it that makes a good duelist... at least that's what my sensei told me. One day after kenjutsu he just walks up to me and says, you are ready. And then we started some iaido the next day. Though, if the draw is what you're interested in..."

Sanzo looks around for something. He winds up some cloth and ties it into a belt, into which he sheaths his bokken.

"Angle is pretty important to a good draw. You need to have your saya aligned in such a way that you can draw with the natural arc of your body." With his makeshift belt, he kinda adjusts things a bit, feeling for the correct angle and posture he had practiced. Finally, he finds it, and performs a pretty decent quick strike into the air.

"Try to copy my posture," he takes up the form taught to him by the Shiba Bushi school, "and then feel out what feels natural for a draw."

He nodded and watched Sanzo work. The preparations, the positions and posture. He duplicated it, not quite as well as he would have liked, but the importance was beginning the process. If he was going to have even a glimmer of hope in the Iaijutsu portion of the Topaz Championship, he would be required to study far more closely this portion. You could not hope to succeed if you were reliant upon the raw, natural graces that you possessed in that competition.

The Shiba stance was lower than what he expected, and the readiness of the draw was more to have the weapon out and prepared, less upon the formalities of the duel itself. But of course, it was a yojimbo's stance. Still, using it he tried to move quickly in his posture. It was crude, but he was starting to get the right motions. "Repetition is the friend of learning, I have been told."

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time; it seems you've already got a pretty good sense of stance and striking." Sanzo says nodding to himself.

"Hai, some practice is always a good idea! I probably need to polish up my moves, too, or the inevitable duel training we'll be put through."

"It is inevitable, yes. However long into the training it occurs, we will be expected to be ready for the championship, and even shugenja are expected to perform Iaijutsu in that, as in all previous years." He certainly wasn't going to walk in with no training in the art for the primary tourney. A few grunts as he went through each motion. "I appreciate you taking the time. I do not wish to perturb the sensei about this, not at this time."

"Oh, think nothing of it. I'm always happy to help out! And really, I wasn't kidding when I said my own technique needs some refinement. I was thinking about maybe trying to win that dueling tournament... though, I don't know if I should even try that hard what with the famous Kakita and Mirumoto there."

"A Kakita in the tournament simply means that you will have that much more to strive towards. To enter a Topaz tourney without one would be inauspicious indeed. If you're going to try and claim the prize, you want it to be against the very best the empire has to offer." He nodded as he said it, pretty firmly entrenched in that line of thought. "I think yearning for the highest of heights gives one things to strive towards, to master. Never set your sights too low, I say."

"I've heard it said that our struggles are what define us. Indeed, some lofty goal might do me some good..."

Sanzo ponders on his own sense of both ambition and contentment as he continues his practice.

"At the very least, it'd give some focus to my growth."

"Perhaps, though I look forward to the day when I am not defined by the specific things that I struggle with," he grunted out, those sickly yellow eye practically shining with each motion of his arms. "That day will come. I will master my body in time, and grow from there. And until that day, I know what I must struggle against."

Sanzo simply nods in agreement. That sounded like a worthy struggle, though, he didn't really have any grasp of the sort of troubles his cousin was dealing with. After all, Sanzo was of sound health and his birth was even surrounded by a number of good omens.

"Well, this sounds like something the adults would toast to with some sake." Sanzo holds up a mock cup of alcohol, adopting a deeper, more grown-up voice. "To our struggles, self-imposed or otherwise! Kanpai!"

With that, he'll take a sip before dropping the silliness.

"But really, cousin, let me know if you want or need help along your path."