Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2017 5:03:24 GMT
I’m Still Breathing,
It had been almost two years since Arte had entered a dojo let alone one specially for kendo. The last time she had, she came out with two broken ribs, a friendship she wasn’t so sure she wanted and a bad reputation that made people both admire and fear her. But this was different, right? A new school, new beginnings and fresh faces. Surely she wouldn’t run into some egotistical self-proclaimed top of the class idiot that was hell bent on challenging her…
Sliding the door open she stepping into the matted room and a soft smile formed on her lips. She couldn’t help but feel at home in a dojo. It wasn’t that she didn’t like training anywhere else but a dojo had a certain energy that you couldn’t feel anywhere else. So many people passed through these doors all in search of perfection and only through blood, sweat and tears did they achieve it. Today though Artemis found herself lucky to be the only occupant. She had checked all the class timetables and found that at this particular time there was a free hour. That is what prompted her to venture out and take a look. However, it took her a little while to get here due to not really being familiar with the school yet so really she only had about 40 minutes of the room to herself. Artemis wasn’t too worried though, 40 minutes was more than enough to do what she needed.
It would be a simple sword kata, or rather a dance. She recently had picked up a new style where you incorporated sword kata and techniques into a series of movements meant to be both beautiful and deadly. Moving over to the wall she eyed the swords – there was a set of kendo sticks in a rack lined against the wall then further down in a case she spotted live swords that were meant to be off-limits. Meant to be because only advanced students were allowed to use them, lucky for her she had approached the dojo head teacher and proved she was capable enough to use them. Actually, he had tried to recruit her to the team but she politely refused, she only really wanted a space to train not really to join a group of hot-headed people all trying to outdo each other. She had been there and done that and it didn’t serve her well at all.
Opening the glass case with her ID swipe card she reached in for two swords, the two that contrasted each other the most, a white katana adorned with dragon scales along the hilt to form a dragon head at its tip and a black katana adorned with the scales of a serpent along the hilt to form the serpents head at the tip. They were both equally beautiful to look at and Arte couldn’t help but admire their form as she tested their weight in her hands.
Moving to the left of the room and just a little off center, Arte unsheathed both blades and placed the black one on the dojo mat to the left of her while she held the white one behind her back and parallel to her arm. Taking a deep breath, she bowed slightly and bent her knees, her arms coming out from her sides like a cranes wings then her free right hand gracefully fell across her form as she let herself sink into the matt. Her right arms movement changed direction as she slowly pulled it back up to her right, using the movement to guide her body around in a full circle as she raised her left arm with the sword firm gripped in that hand to shoulder level. The movement wasn’t quick; it was measured and precise – a sign of great discipline.
Taking a few steps back she bowed low before raising her body and her arms, mimicking what it would look like to draw a sword from its sheath had this sword had its sheath on. Then she stepped to the side, moving the sword in her right hand as if she were striking. Again, her movements were still graceful and controlled. They weren’t aggressive but her positioning gave her skill away, she was trained and although it was beautiful she was deadly.
She continued to step around the room, her body rising and falling with each precise strike she made or swift motion of the blade into its next position. She flicked the blade around her wrist causing the light to hit the metal and reflect over the room as she spun and thrust her sword forward and kicked her left leg out behind her as if she were attacking two foes. Holding the position for a moment she left her body fall back into a grounding position as she bent her knees and spun the blade over her head only to bring in down in a swift motion as if she were to perform a killing strike which she did in slow motion.
Taking steps back she glided the blade across her body slowly then spun forward and moved the blade in quick sessions over her head and then down inform of her form. The blade performed a quick spinning attack as she flicked her wrist to create the motion before using her control to slow the blade into swift slices through the air. By this point she had made her way to the blade she placed on the mat before and knelt gracefully to reach it.
Her dance became more intense now as she spun both swords elegantly and quickly across her body. She glided over the floor and more everything look so easy yet ethereal at the same time. Her quick movements and spins all heightened into a movement that she slowed down. The white blade came swiftly from behind her head as she accurately stabbed it into the imaginary person laying on the floor below her, the black blade neatly poised behind her back as she brought the first sword up and out of the dead body. She raised it above her head, the other blade slowly moving from behind her back in a parallel motion to the other till both her arms were shoulder height and the white blades edge faced up and the black blades faced down. A perfect yin and yang movement…
Sliding the door open she stepping into the matted room and a soft smile formed on her lips. She couldn’t help but feel at home in a dojo. It wasn’t that she didn’t like training anywhere else but a dojo had a certain energy that you couldn’t feel anywhere else. So many people passed through these doors all in search of perfection and only through blood, sweat and tears did they achieve it. Today though Artemis found herself lucky to be the only occupant. She had checked all the class timetables and found that at this particular time there was a free hour. That is what prompted her to venture out and take a look. However, it took her a little while to get here due to not really being familiar with the school yet so really she only had about 40 minutes of the room to herself. Artemis wasn’t too worried though, 40 minutes was more than enough to do what she needed.
It would be a simple sword kata, or rather a dance. She recently had picked up a new style where you incorporated sword kata and techniques into a series of movements meant to be both beautiful and deadly. Moving over to the wall she eyed the swords – there was a set of kendo sticks in a rack lined against the wall then further down in a case she spotted live swords that were meant to be off-limits. Meant to be because only advanced students were allowed to use them, lucky for her she had approached the dojo head teacher and proved she was capable enough to use them. Actually, he had tried to recruit her to the team but she politely refused, she only really wanted a space to train not really to join a group of hot-headed people all trying to outdo each other. She had been there and done that and it didn’t serve her well at all.
Opening the glass case with her ID swipe card she reached in for two swords, the two that contrasted each other the most, a white katana adorned with dragon scales along the hilt to form a dragon head at its tip and a black katana adorned with the scales of a serpent along the hilt to form the serpents head at the tip. They were both equally beautiful to look at and Arte couldn’t help but admire their form as she tested their weight in her hands.
Moving to the left of the room and just a little off center, Arte unsheathed both blades and placed the black one on the dojo mat to the left of her while she held the white one behind her back and parallel to her arm. Taking a deep breath, she bowed slightly and bent her knees, her arms coming out from her sides like a cranes wings then her free right hand gracefully fell across her form as she let herself sink into the matt. Her right arms movement changed direction as she slowly pulled it back up to her right, using the movement to guide her body around in a full circle as she raised her left arm with the sword firm gripped in that hand to shoulder level. The movement wasn’t quick; it was measured and precise – a sign of great discipline.
Taking a few steps back she bowed low before raising her body and her arms, mimicking what it would look like to draw a sword from its sheath had this sword had its sheath on. Then she stepped to the side, moving the sword in her right hand as if she were striking. Again, her movements were still graceful and controlled. They weren’t aggressive but her positioning gave her skill away, she was trained and although it was beautiful she was deadly.
She continued to step around the room, her body rising and falling with each precise strike she made or swift motion of the blade into its next position. She flicked the blade around her wrist causing the light to hit the metal and reflect over the room as she spun and thrust her sword forward and kicked her left leg out behind her as if she were attacking two foes. Holding the position for a moment she left her body fall back into a grounding position as she bent her knees and spun the blade over her head only to bring in down in a swift motion as if she were to perform a killing strike which she did in slow motion.
Taking steps back she glided the blade across her body slowly then spun forward and moved the blade in quick sessions over her head and then down inform of her form. The blade performed a quick spinning attack as she flicked her wrist to create the motion before using her control to slow the blade into swift slices through the air. By this point she had made her way to the blade she placed on the mat before and knelt gracefully to reach it.
Her dance became more intense now as she spun both swords elegantly and quickly across her body. She glided over the floor and more everything look so easy yet ethereal at the same time. Her quick movements and spins all heightened into a movement that she slowed down. The white blade came swiftly from behind her head as she accurately stabbed it into the imaginary person laying on the floor below her, the black blade neatly poised behind her back as she brought the first sword up and out of the dead body. She raised it above her head, the other blade slowly moving from behind her back in a parallel motion to the other till both her arms were shoulder height and the white blades edge faced up and the black blades faced down. A perfect yin and yang movement…
