Read Online The Way Of The Sword by Chris Bradford - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Chris Bradford
Ads: Link
and driving his fist through the wood with a shout of ‘KIAI!’
CRACK!
The cedar split in two as if it were no more than a chopstick.
‘You’re all merely iron waiting to be forged into mighty warriors,’ continued Sensei Kyuzo without skipping a beat, ‘and your forge is
tamashiwari
, Trial by Wood.’
He looked pointedly in Jack’s direction.
‘It’s just that some of you have more impurities than others,’ he added as he strode over to one of the
Butokuden’
s mighty wooden pillars.
Jack bit down on his lip, determined not to rise to the sensei’s bait.
‘Like iron, you must beat out these weaknesses,’ Sensei Kyuzo explained, indicating a pad of rice straw bound by cord at chest height to the pillar.
He punched it with his fist. The wooden column boomed deeply under the force of the blow.
‘This is a
makiwara
. I’ve set up these striking posts on each pillar of the training hall. You’re to hit these repeatedly to strengthen the bones in your hands. It’s good conditioning for all samurai. Twenty punches each. Begin!’
Jack lined himself up behind Saburo, who was already preparing to make his first strike.
‘One!’ shouted Saburo, working himself up for the punch.
Saburo’s fist collided with the straw pad. There was a crunch followed by a feeble groan as his hand crumpled against the rigid pillar. Saburo, his eyes screwed up in pain, stepped aside for Jack.
‘Your turn,’ he moaned through gritted teeth.
‘Three blocks!’ exclaimed Saburo, who was having trouble holding his
hashi
during dinner that evening. He wiggled his fingers trying to get movement back into his bruised hand. ‘I’m glad it’s you and not me going for the Circle of Three. One’s hard enough. How on earth are you supposed to break three blocks?’
‘You think Trial by Wood’s hard? This is only the beginning. We’re being judged on three other trials too,’ said Yamato, putting down his rice bowl.
He nodded towards the head table, where their
kyujutsu
teacher sat. Sensei Yosa, the only female samurai among the teachers and their instructor in the Art of the Bow, was looking as radiant as ever, the ruby-red scar that cut across her right cheek discreetly hidden behind her beautiful mane of black hair. ‘I’ve heard Sensei Yosa’s Trial by Fire is to snuff out a candle.’
‘That doesn’t sound so bad,’ said Jack, his hand also stiff as he struggled to pick up a piece of
sashimi
from the centre plate.
‘No, but in order to prove your skill for the Circle you have to do it with an arrow, fired at long distance.’
Jack dropped his
sashimi
in disbelief.
‘At this rate, none of you will be entering the Circle,’ observed Kiku.
Jack glumly retrieved his piece of fish from the table. Kiku was probably right. His own archery skills were passable, but he knew he had little hope of achieving such a feat as Trial by Fire.
‘Do you know what the other two trials are? Are they any easier?’ asked Jack hopefully.
‘Sensei Yamada is setting a Trial by
Koan
,’ revealed Akiko. ‘Our answer to the question will be used to assess our intellect.’
‘Yori, you’d better be careful,’ said Saburo, arching his eyebrows into a look of serious concern. ‘As the king of solving
koans
, you might be entered for the Circle whether you like it or not!’
Yori looked up from his bowl of miso soup, a startled expression on his face.
‘Stop teasing him!’ scolded Kiku.
Saburo shrugged an apology before slurping appreciatively on his noodles.
‘So what’s the final trial?’ asked Jack.
‘That’s Sensei Hosokawa’s Trial by Sword,’ answered Akiko. ‘To test our courage.’
‘I’ve heard the older students call it the Gauntlet,’ added Saburo.
‘Why’s that?’ asked Jack.
‘I don’t know, but I’m sure you’ll find out.’
13
ORIGAMI
‘Can anyone tell me what this is?’ asked Sensei Yamada, indicating a bright white square of paper at his feet.
The ancient monk sat,
CRACK!
The cedar split in two as if it were no more than a chopstick.
‘You’re all merely iron waiting to be forged into mighty warriors,’ continued Sensei Kyuzo without skipping a beat, ‘and your forge is
tamashiwari
, Trial by Wood.’
He looked pointedly in Jack’s direction.
‘It’s just that some of you have more impurities than others,’ he added as he strode over to one of the
Butokuden’
s mighty wooden pillars.
Jack bit down on his lip, determined not to rise to the sensei’s bait.
‘Like iron, you must beat out these weaknesses,’ Sensei Kyuzo explained, indicating a pad of rice straw bound by cord at chest height to the pillar.
He punched it with his fist. The wooden column boomed deeply under the force of the blow.
‘This is a
makiwara
. I’ve set up these striking posts on each pillar of the training hall. You’re to hit these repeatedly to strengthen the bones in your hands. It’s good conditioning for all samurai. Twenty punches each. Begin!’
Jack lined himself up behind Saburo, who was already preparing to make his first strike.
‘One!’ shouted Saburo, working himself up for the punch.
Saburo’s fist collided with the straw pad. There was a crunch followed by a feeble groan as his hand crumpled against the rigid pillar. Saburo, his eyes screwed up in pain, stepped aside for Jack.
‘Your turn,’ he moaned through gritted teeth.
‘Three blocks!’ exclaimed Saburo, who was having trouble holding his
hashi
during dinner that evening. He wiggled his fingers trying to get movement back into his bruised hand. ‘I’m glad it’s you and not me going for the Circle of Three. One’s hard enough. How on earth are you supposed to break three blocks?’
‘You think Trial by Wood’s hard? This is only the beginning. We’re being judged on three other trials too,’ said Yamato, putting down his rice bowl.
He nodded towards the head table, where their
kyujutsu
teacher sat. Sensei Yosa, the only female samurai among the teachers and their instructor in the Art of the Bow, was looking as radiant as ever, the ruby-red scar that cut across her right cheek discreetly hidden behind her beautiful mane of black hair. ‘I’ve heard Sensei Yosa’s Trial by Fire is to snuff out a candle.’
‘That doesn’t sound so bad,’ said Jack, his hand also stiff as he struggled to pick up a piece of
sashimi
from the centre plate.
‘No, but in order to prove your skill for the Circle you have to do it with an arrow, fired at long distance.’
Jack dropped his
sashimi
in disbelief.
‘At this rate, none of you will be entering the Circle,’ observed Kiku.
Jack glumly retrieved his piece of fish from the table. Kiku was probably right. His own archery skills were passable, but he knew he had little hope of achieving such a feat as Trial by Fire.
‘Do you know what the other two trials are? Are they any easier?’ asked Jack hopefully.
‘Sensei Yamada is setting a Trial by
Koan
,’ revealed Akiko. ‘Our answer to the question will be used to assess our intellect.’
‘Yori, you’d better be careful,’ said Saburo, arching his eyebrows into a look of serious concern. ‘As the king of solving
koans
, you might be entered for the Circle whether you like it or not!’
Yori looked up from his bowl of miso soup, a startled expression on his face.
‘Stop teasing him!’ scolded Kiku.
Saburo shrugged an apology before slurping appreciatively on his noodles.
‘So what’s the final trial?’ asked Jack.
‘That’s Sensei Hosokawa’s Trial by Sword,’ answered Akiko. ‘To test our courage.’
‘I’ve heard the older students call it the Gauntlet,’ added Saburo.
‘Why’s that?’ asked Jack.
‘I don’t know, but I’m sure you’ll find out.’
13
ORIGAMI
‘Can anyone tell me what this is?’ asked Sensei Yamada, indicating a bright white square of paper at his feet.
The ancient monk sat,
Similar Books
