Saturday, May 10th, 2008
Kenjutsu
The picture that you see is my bokken. To the unfamiliar, a bokken is a wooden stick shaped like a katana though it can also take other forms like a tanto or a wakizashi. This is used for kenjutsu training. Instead of using real swords that poses a lot of dangers, a bokken is used instead.
Why do I have a bokken? Well you see, ever since I was a little kid, I always have had this fascination for swords. As I was growing up, this fascination never left me. So I tried to seek for schools here in Davao that taught this art. Unfortunately, I did not find any.
However, when I was given the chance to study at the University of San Carlos in Cebu, I gave my search another whirl in this uncharted territory. I explored Cebu City for many days. I found training places for judo, aikido, karate but not for kenjutsu. But there was one aikido practitioner in one of the dojos I visited who told me that there was somebody in Cebu who teaches kenjutsu. And then he said that the guy is a teacher in the University of San Carlos. "WTF?! I exhaustingly roamed around Cebu City and the one I have been looking for was right under my nose!" The next day I searched for this teacher and I finally caught up to him late in the afternoon. Gathering all the courage I had I approached him and inquired about kenjutsu. He told me that he had no proper dojo although the university lets him use the judo practice area. I then asked him if I could train with him. I can sense that he was hesitant at first but then he blurted, "adto sa judo gym ugma 5 pm. naa ba ky gi?" and since I didn’t have one he told me, "pagdala na lng ug white shirt and jogging pants"
creating projectiles orally seems to run in the family doesn’t it? hehe :D...