Grip. Awareness. Posture. It's funny. At the heart of swordplay, so much depends on the state of the body. In film and novel, the emphasis has been placed on the sword, the gleam and workmanship of the blade. Those of us who train see the sword as a tool - a means to an end.
I was in a martial arts demonstration not long ago. My students and I demo'd stick fighting methods. I believe we were well received. Later, we watched a man perform a sword kata with an imitation katana. This man's teacher explained that weapons were not traditionally a part of their particular martial system but were added to increase the school's market appeal. I felt the audience oohing and aahing at the flashing blade, but personally, I couldn't get past the inadequacy of the techniques. But I have a background in disciplines which emphasize the use of the sword as a tool to take down opponents.
I have chopped down many a plastic jug in my sword training. I was at a Shadows of Iga Ninja Festival once where some of the participants had set up milk jugs to practice cutting them with a real katana. A crowd had gathered to watch. Somehow the sword wound up in my hand, and there I was staring at the innocent jug filled with water, minding its own business. I and put the distracting crowd out of my mind. The trick about milk jugs is that unless the cut is true they fly away and burst like irate water ballons. I moved forward, concentrating on the slice, pushing cut, rather than pulling. The blade slipped through and the top of the jug just lifted slightly; then the water, which seemed to pause before choosing its response, flowed down the jug's sides.
Everyone cheered and I reflect on it now because this little feat was witnessed by an educated audience who wasn't watching the blade, but the movement of the man who wielded it.
