A Writer's Guide to Kendo

I may have mentioned this before, and if not I'll mention it now, I practice kendo.

What is kendo you may ask? It is a SPORT based upon Japanese swordsmanship. Why the emphasis on it being a sport? Because it is not a practical sword art, and authors should not treat it as so.

Okay, a little bit of background may be in order on this one, so that you understand why I feel the need to post this. I was reading the first book of the Safehold series by David Weber, an author who produces work I normally enjoy. Heck, he can put vampires in military science fiction and make it work. (Look for it and you will find it, don't want to spoil the story it's in.)

Anyways, in the first book of the series, the character Nimue's background mentions that she was turned on to practicing kendo by one of her mentors/friends. So far, no problem. The real issue for me arises when she starts fighting in a world regressed to a medieval level of technology. Not only fighting, but fighting well and utilizing an "odd fighting stance".

My problem with this is that while there is competition in kendo, the goal is not to strike down your opponent. Kendo players (yes, you play kendo, you don't fight with it) are taught to hit, not to cut. So someone trained in kendo wouldn't have the instinct to slice someone down. Also, the fighting stance is very straightforward, with the feet shoulder width apart and right leg in front and the left heel slightly raised. Not really an odd stance.

You may be wondering, what is the difference between a hit and cut, after all both involve striking someone. To hit someone with a real sword would be ineffectual. A sword works best, especially the swords used in Japanese martial arts, when slicing. The hits in kendo are achieved with small movements and targeted at armored areas, places that would have been covered by traditional protection. Cutting requires a larger motion, the idea being to make contact in an unprotected area on the body and then follow through and slice through any resistance and therefore wound your opponent.

So, you may be wondering, if kendo isn't what we call a practical Japanese sword art, what is? Easy, it's kenjutsu.

Notice, both terms share "ken". An easy translation for this would be "sword". "Do" means way, and "jutsu" means art, so kendo is the "Way of the Sword", while kenjutsu is the "Art of the Sword".

Yes, this may seem an artificial distinction, but it's not. With a "jutsu" the focus was on a practical "art" that one could use to survive in a hostile world. With the coming of the modern age, a lot of the "arts" translated into "ways" and the focus changed primarily to spiritual development. So while kendo is not a combat art, it is a way of finding a deeper spiritual center within yourself, like a lot of modern martial arts who's focus is on self-development rather than practical application. Practitioners of a "do" can still be fearsome in combat, but only because part of their spiritual development is achieved through physical toil, meaning they can often be fitter even if they don't look it.


Are the jutsu arts still around. Of course! Jiujitsu is one focused on hand to hand combat, and there are even kenjutsu schools still operating. A lot of the remaining kenjutsu schools are family affairs, the art passed from father to son, or even daughter in these modern times. I myself had the privilege of practicing Ono Ha Itto Ryu years ago, one of the spiritual ancestors of modern kendo, and I know of at least one school of Katori Shinto Ryu in North America. These are both different styles, just like there are many different schools and styles of jiujitsu.

Another thing the bears mentioning is the difference in attitude. Different schools each had a unique, well, psychology is the best thing to call it. The art I practiced was very straightforward, brutal even, with lots of sword contact and forward motion. Other schools of kenjutsu are more subtle, having the practitioner lay traps for his opponent.

Kendo on the other hand is extremely forward and aggressive, much more than any kenjutsu school, since you don't have to worry about getting hit as points are scored only if the correct area is struck with the correct footwork and follow through. It can be very hard to score a point in kendo, depending on how strict the judges are calling things. You can whack at a person for an hour and not score if you don't have everything lined up just right, and kendo players are trained to ignore hits that wouldn't result in a point. More than once I've been whacked on the shoulder or ribs, spots that if I was in a real sword fight would result in severe damage and loss of life. All I ended up while playing kendo was, at most, a rather impressive bruise.

So, this goes out to all you authors, writers, scribblers, and scribes. Know the difference between kendo and kenjutsu, and write accordingly. It's a small detail, but it does stand out for those in the know.

Books That Need To Be Reread

So I'm reading this book on samurai legends. It's full of stories of, funnily enough, samurai throughout the ages. They're taken from the original sources and translated, because amazingly I cannot read nor understand ancient Japanese script.

I've just reached a section taken from The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, something that I've already read at least five times by my count. So, am I going to skip this section? Well, the title of this post gives a hint on that. Of course not!

The Book of Five Rings is a classic, especially for anyone interested in the Eastern sword arts, which I am. (I have mentioned that I'm currently studying kendo and have studied Ono Ha Itto-Ryu in the past, haven't I?) Rereading it every few years is a good idea. It refreshes the text's information in my mind, and since I keep changing as I age, I may find a new truth in it. The same goes for The Art of War by Sun Tzu, another text I've been known to reread.

Now before you go thinking that ancient Asian military texts are the only thing I reread, I do the same with plenty of fiction as well. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card gets reread every few years, same with most of the Honnor Harrington series by David Weber, mostly because it helps me remember where the thread of the story's going and because they're just damn fun books. I used to reread the Wheel of Time books, until they reached a point I felt they were never going to end before Robert Jordan died. Unfortunately he did pass before finishing them, but I have been hearing good things about what Brandon Sanderson is doing to finish the series, so once it's all done I think I'll read them all, from start to finish, just to say I have.

So I hand this off to you, those who are reading my words. What books/series to you reread every few years, and why?

The Dork Review: Mission of Honor

Ok, I not going to number these things anymore, as it's become blindingly apparent to me that I'm not going to do them often enough to keep track. I really don't want to have to filter through months worth of posts in order to figure out what number I should be on. That being said, I really should start reviewing more of the books I'm reading and movies I'm seeing. Oh well, now on to the good bit.

Have you ever picked up and book and had trouble putting it down? That's what it was like for me with Mission of Honor by David Weber. I picked up the book last Saturday and just finished it tonight, and by the end of it you couldn't have pried me away with a crowbar. I was so desperate to know what was going to happen I even started reading at work between calls!

If you're a fan of the Honor Harrington series you'll probably already know what to expect. This book has the usual naval action and wholesale destruction we've come to expect. It also has some significant plot movement, with the "Oyster Bay" attack finally taking place and a few other significant events as well. I really did like the way the attack was handled, with so many different viewpoints provided, and the foreshadowing leading up to the attack was spot on.

For those who want to know more about the Mesan Alignment, a few more layers of the onion get peeled away and we get an idea of the core plan they've been following. It's interesting, Weber has been slowly revealing details over the last few books, and instead of seeming endless it's pushed me to read more and more so I can find out what is going on. That to me is the sign of an excellent storyteller, when you're hanging on every word wanting to know more.

Without a doubt I recommend this book. If you've heard of the series and are hesitant to pick it up since there are so many books in it, get your hands on one of the first printings of this hardcover. Baen includes a CD in each book with all of David Weber's previously published Baen books, so buy buying one book you'll have access to the whole series. Trust me, it's worth it.

The Dork Review #1: Storm From the Shadows

Alright, so we're going to try something a little different now, regular reviews of books that I've read or reading at the moment. I thought I'd start with one of my favorite authors, David Weber and his next to latest entry in the Honorverse series, Storm From the Shadows.

Now I'm going to assume that if you're reading this you're at least a little bit familiar with the Honorverse. If you're not then I recommend hitting Wikipedia and doing a search for Honor Harrington and then hitting the Baen Books website and downloading any of the Honorverse books they have available for free. Short description of the series would be Horatio Hornblower in space, but that fails to totally encapsulate what Weber has done.

So, on to the book itself. This novel picks up threads hanging around from Shadow of Saganami, and some characters too, and runs parallel to a lot of the action in At All Costs, and even though I have yet to read it, Torch of Freedom. One definitely nice thing is the introduction Mr. Weber provides that warns the reader that some of the events in this book are going to be different views on what's already happened and that all three story lines, the Honor Harrington one, the Talbott Cluster line, and the Queen Berry/Torch line, are all going to be interconnected. I sure the publisher is delighted by this, because to get the full picture of events you'll want to buy all the Honorverse books that come out so that you know exactly what's going on.

However, if you're unable to get them all or want to wait, usually Baen does include a CD in the first printing of a new hardcover that includes all of the books to date. Actually, that was my main motivation for picking up At All Costs in hardcover, so that I could finally get all of the books in the series and understand what was going on.

Finally, the introduction does include a warning. Events are going to get even grimmer for the heroes over the next few books, and this is borne out through this novel where we can see more of what's happening in the background, and it doesn't look good. The book ends on a forbidding note and you just know some serious shit is about to go down.

The two main characters I can see emerging in the text are Michelle Henke and Aviars Terekhov. Both assume more responsibility inside the military, and both get some very moving scenes in the book. Not wanting to give anything away, lets just say that Aviars is shown without a doubt that his actions in Shadow of Saganami were approved of and that the powers that be have great confidence in him.

This being an Honorverse book it does have to include at least one of two instances of Honor Harrington popping up and making a comment about current events. The nice part is that this is done with a light touch in most cases, and the only scene really where we see a lot of her is near the end of the book. This scene does involve Honor verbally pimp slapping the Queen of Manticore and is almost a reason in itself to read the book if you're a fan of Honor Harrington. However, this scene does little to drive the events in the rest of the book, being near the end and all, but for all appearances it is setup for the next Honor Harrington book. I have a feeling it will be referenced or copied over into Mission of Honor, which Mr. Weber has identified as being delivered and in the pipeline for publication.

All in all I enjoyed Storm From the Shadows. The best way I can describe it is as a middle book, kind of like The Empire Strikes Back from Star Wars. It has less action that some of the other Weber books, but it's main reason for existence seems to be to get things moving and setup the next few books after it. If you're only interested in Honor and her adventures then you could skip it, but then you'd be missing out.

I Now Have A Trinity

Of stories that is. Not the mannish looking chic from the Matrix movies in the tight black leather. no, definitely not that.

Just finished the first draft on my third story from the "Great Resumption" and I'm actually very happy with it. I was able to use multiple third-person viewpoints, as in the story is told in the third person but the focus shifts, and I like the way I was able to break them up. I need to give the story a day to sit and kind of percolate, so tomorrow I likely won't be working on anything unless I get some feedback on my second story. It seems that something about 30 pages long takes a bit to be read. The waiting is aggravating but I'm getting feedback for free so I really can't complain.

Speaking of aggravating, I'm still waiting to hear from EDGE on my Tesseracts submission. It is now officially a week after the stated deadline they posted for when they would get back to people. I'm hoping this means they're having a hard time choosing and that I have a good chance of getting published. If not, well then I'll take whatever feedback, if any, they give and either dust off the story and try elsewhere, rework the story and try again, or consign it to the dustbin of history and move on.

Amazingly I have no shortage of ideas right now. There have been at least two nights in the last few weeks where I've woken from a dream and had to write down details right away. Also, I have ideas for novels burning in the back of my brain. Heck, I have ideas for series of novels burning in the back of my brain! A part of me wishes I could quit my job and write full time, but right now that isn't feasible. Aside from the whole starving to death in a back alley thing, I'm close to getting off contract and in full time with benefits. So, stable work with good benefits versus living day to day on what I can bring in on my unproven talent as a writer. Yeah, I'll stick with the job to pay the bills for now.

John Scalzi has a great piece on Whatever about authors and financial issues. The points he makes are something I always trying to keep in mind. Basically it's the same points my parents made years ago anytime I mentioned the idea of becoming a writer, but don't tell John or else he may feel old, and he can't feel old because he's not that much older than me! Article can be found here.

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully I'll have some good news soon. At the very least I should start writing about what I've been reading. Hmmmmm.... I did just finish a book by David Weber. Maybe I should write a review on it this weekend. Not a bad idea.