So as I walked around the house with Steve’s Japanese wooden sword draped over my shoulder, I thought of the warriors in Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai. I especially thought of the character played by actor Toshiro Mifune who carried his scabbarded metal sword that way, walking sometimes with a drunken gait. Growing up I was big into action movies, the good ones like The Seven Samurai, the bad ones and everything in between. Interest has waxed and waned over the years but in recent times Steve and I had been watching the occasional martial arts movie via the streaming services.
About six or so years ago, after completing treatment for cancer, Steve and I impulsively walked into a martial arts studio and he resumed his studies begun in youth. Less about defense, as the focus may have been when he’d been a young man, but more so a focus on improving balance, strength building, increasing range of motion, etc. The cancer had impacted his eyesight as well as other things and there were many exercises, including with the sword, to help body and brain rewire to deal with new deficits in motion and vision.
Steve was always very mindful when he was swinging the sword around the house. He’d say, “Don’t get too close behind me and don’t stand on my left where I can’t see you.” Now I thought he was being overly cautious but I do realize, in hind sight, that one of my blind spots with Steve is that I never perceived how tall he was and therefore how long his reach. I appreciate that he found many ways to look out for me.
As for the sword, I took a few big swings mimicking some moves I’d seen in movies. After a few “Ow!” I decided, if I choose to keep it, I should probably get in touch with Steve’s teacher to get some proper training. 🙂
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