[ Testimony ] Samurai Faith

[Dan1966]

I have always been deeply influenced by the Samurai of Japan, an influence whih began with my World War II forefathers stories which eventually and by grace brought me into the US Navy and long service in Japan. It is there where my love of Christ grew profoundly strong with the stories of Samurai who with great courage and nobility of heart laid down their lives rather than abandon their love of Christ or their fellow Christians to the persecutions of the Tokugawa Shoguns.

I am a long practitioner of two swords, the Katana by Iai-jutsu and the word of Christ....my Lord, My sword.

In Bushido I have discipline, in the word of God I have my strength. In the way of the Samurai I have the honor to serve him and the tao to not fear death.

Persecution, insult, threats....what do they mean when mortal death is no longer a concern? What can mortal man do when one serves a great master as our Lord Christ? To be a Christian Samurai is to transend the concerns of fear to the mortal body.

My Lord to me is my Daymo (Dy-meoh) to serve Christ means unflinching loyalty, inflexable, unmoving, unchanging. By his word, by his law, by his command. To remain resolute unto death.

Every morning and evening I practice my way or "Kata" The Kata of the sword and the kata of the word. It is never complete, never good enough, never perfect enough. As one should practice the cutting forms daily so too should he practice the words and laws o his ord with unflinching attention.

There is excitement in living this way, to go about the mornings dressed in the cloth of a Samurai with sword in sash and bible in hand. To sit quietly in the dim light reading the word and in the next drawing the sword, performing the disciplines of cutting and stance.

"Be dressed, ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return."

Luke 12:35-37

I go about my day in this mannor, always ready for the Master, my Lord. Always ready to do service, do battle, do honor...not for my gain but for his.

I thank Christ for my breath and for the honor to serve him as the Samurai who were Martyred in his name had done before me.

 

[Eugene]

Hi Dan, and thanks for your testimony. When you mention Tao are you referring to Buddhism? You seem to present a direct link between philosophy and spirituality as necessary for our walk in Christ, or am I wrong? Thanks.

On a side note, are you disciplined in the use of the Samaria sword? In humor I present the following link. Uhh - Don't bring a sword to a gun fight?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DzcOCyHDqc

 

[Dan1966]

That is so classic! And as Harrison ord remarked, that was totally unscripted! He just did it and Spielberg kept it in the movie.

No...as far as those wild trcks they do with the Samari swords, no that's not Ia-jutsu. I never do tricks as that would insult the blade and the purpose of Iaido.

As for "Tao or Do" I refer to way or purpose path.

 

[jasoncran]

well interesting I will take this to the mma coach.

hmm you do realize that the samurai weren't really all that Christ like and that the shoguns were also Lords over them. keep in mind its the reason we had to bomb japan.

 

[Dan1966]

hmm you do realize that the samurai weren't really all that Christ like

You should know the complete history before making such statements.

and that the shoguns were also Lords over them.

And many Japanese Christians died at the hands of the Tokugawa lords because they chose Christ in loyalty before the Shogun.
Might I suggest you look up the Shimabara rebellion?

keep in mind its the reason we had to bomb japan.

Keep in mind that racism in America, especially when it was standard teaching at our military acadamys' like West Point, was a big part of assisting Japan in her success at Pearl harbor. The Japanese were by far the most fearsome
opponant America has ever faced.

 

[sealed servant]

One of my most highly prized posessions is a Japanese officers sword that my grandfather Jesse Ingram II brought home from his service as a marine in the Pacific Theater during WW II. I also have his old winchester lever action rifle. Paw paw wasn't a spiritual man by all accounts before he went to the war. He fought in the Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal invasions and despite heavy fighting action returned home unscathed. Almost all of his origional companions died or were seriously wounded. When he returned home he went to seminary and became a Baptist preacher until the day The Lord took him home. He knew that only Divine intercession had saved him during the war. Paw Paw was born on January 6, the day of epiphany, and his daughter, my mother, was also born on the day of epiphany. Now The Lord has also called me into service as a preacher of the gospel and I have no doubt which sword of the two you mentioned he wishes me to weild." He who lives by the sword must also die by the sword." QUOTE FROM OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

 

[Claudya]

Aw man I would die to wield a real Katana.... but I practice Kendo, which is pretty much a modernised full contact fighting version of traditional samurai Ken-jutsu, and since you don't wanna kill a fellow Kendo-Ka... we use bamboo sticks instead of metal swords. There's no dojo practicing Iaido/ Iaijutsu anywhere near my city. So I guess I'm stuck with the bamboo sword for a while, but the option of full contact fighting is awesome enough. Gonna take me another year of training to get there though.

So being a martial artist (Karate since age 12 on and off, Kendo since January of this year) I keep facing a lot of christian prejudice. Some people seem to have a weird idea about what Karate training is like. Several people of my church cell group voiced their concern about me getting under some eastern demonic influence or so....

Every morning and evening I practice my way or "Kata" The Kata of the sword and the kata of the word. It is never complete, never good enough, never perfect enough. As one should practice the cutting forms daily so too should he practice the words and laws o his ord with unflinching attention.

Can totally relate to that. There's one Karate Kata I practice every evening before going to bed (well actually I *intend* to do it every evening, but half of the evenings I forget. ). It's technically an uncomplicated Kata, the sequence of movements can be learned by beginners in minutes, but in truth it is all about correct breathing, 100% full body tension, focus and mental presence. It's basically about putting your whole self into one thing and keep it up even though you may feel exhaustion or pain halfway through. People practice that Kata for a lifetime and no matter how good they get they never reach perfection. It's a good mental exercise (and a decent physical workout). And it's an awesome meditation of our walk with our Master. In my heart performing that Kata feels more like a prayer than like Karate practice.
I wish I could discipline myself to "practicing" His word every day, too.

 

[Eugene]

I would die to wield a real Katana....

uhhh . . Surely you've heard the cliché "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight" haven't you?

 

[Claudya]

That is so classic! And as Harrison ord remarked, that was totally unscripted! He just did it and Spielberg kept it in the movie.

I heard they spontaneously ignored the script and did the gun shot instead of the intended whip vs sword fight sequence because it was so hot that day and Harrison Ford was sick with some bowel infection, so he suggested to just gun down the dude and everyone thankfully accepted.

No...as far as those wild trcks they do with the Samari swords, no that's not Ia-jutsu. I never do tricks as that would insult the blade and the purpose of Iaido.

Toying aroung with your blade is not only insulting to the purpose of Iaido, it's also very dangerous. In a realistic fight you might drop or damage your sword when trying to do such tricks. Or you might not be in readiness position when your opponent attacks. I bet the sword guy in the Indiana Jones movie may have lived longer if he'd refrained from messing around and just used his blade for what it's intended: to attack his opponent.

 

[Claudya]

I would die to wield a real Katana....

uhhh . . Surely you've heard the cliché "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight" haven't you?

Er that's okay. We don't have that much of a gun problem here. :D

Some guy I knew when I was a teen was arrested for carrying a huge two handed sword around in midtown. He was a background actor in a theater play at that time and the sword was fake and merely a stage prop. Some elderly lady called the cops though when she saw him sitting at a populated bus stop with a big sword in his hands. I bet the cops had a good laugh.
So if you can get arrested for having a stage sword I bet bringing a Katana to just any fight would be pretty much illegal.

Seriously though, I wouldn't want to really fight with a Katana. There's a reason we use bamboo swords in Kendo. It's all about advancing one's self, safe competition and fun, not about promoting real violence. But practicing Kata (sequences of moves that simulate a fight against an imagined opponent) like they do in Iaido would be awesome, I think I'd very much enjoy it, and it would be more aesthetical to use a sword with a blade of metal rather than wood. Although afaik Iaido-ka start with wooden swords, too, for safety reasons. And no idea how much you'd pay for a steel blade... let alone a real Katana.