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Samurai Demonstration: a Student Perspective
14th December 2007
On Tuesday 11th December, the first British Samurai for 400 years fought his way through the bustling crowds of the PAC to give a brief demonstration of his skills as a ‘true’ martial artist. He outlined the history of the Japanese military discipline from its roots in the early 9th century and explained its relation to other more mainstream disciplines today.
Michael Jay told the audience of his participation in judo from the age of ten, and his regular trips to Japan since 1973 courtesy of his training as a BA pilot. In order to further his knowledge and abilities in the martial arts field, he attended the Tenshin Shôden Katori Shintô-ryû school of Samurai. This school, according to Jay, remains the only true teacher of Feudal fighting techniques in Japan, can claim to teach Samurai exactly as it was taught a thousand years ago, and as such has been labelled an Intangible Cultural Treasure of Japan.
Samurai, derived from the Japanese word meaning ‘to serve’, is a military discipline that was originally created through the need to protect lords in Feudal Japan, but warriors quickly saw the advantage in learning their skills for the protection of themselves as well as their families. Warriors were trained specifically to kill through the arts of swordsmanship, quick reactions and thought in the face of danger.
He explained that martial arts such as Judo and Kendo were old fighting arts that had been developed into modern techniques since the mid-late 1800s, when the feudal military dictatorship of Japan was replaced with a semi-democratic Emperor.
Jay, along with two assistants, proceeded to demonstrate Samurai techniques with wooden swords and spears as well as authentic, three hundred year old blades. We were shown that, in Samurai, every attack has multiple counter-attacks. The demonstration seemed extraordinarily well rehearsed and even dance-like in its methodical accuracy, and certainly there seemed, as with acting, a character role for the Samurai.
Whilst the £1.50 paid for entrance to the talk may be considered by some to be steep, it no doubt came as a relief to Jay, who can relax in the knowledge that his next meal needn’t be rice, as the traditional payment of Samurai might otherwise dictate.Patrick Fleming (Studying English Literature, Government & Politics, Mathematics, Modern History and Theology)
The Review Online
