As part of The Conversation’s Uncommon Courses series, Lance England, an instructor in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, discusses his course Samurai Swordsmanship.
What prompted the idea for the course? When I was very young, I was intrigued by swords. Maybe that was a result of watching too many sword scenes from Errol Flynn movies. At any rate, the result was that when I was working on my bachelor’s degree, I began participating in European fencing, which is a style of competition using a foil — which is a sword with a light, flexible blade — or a rapier with a protective tip. This style of competition is very popular and can be seen in the Olympics.
Then I saw a gentleman demonstrate techniques and movements with a samurai sword, a Japanese katana, and I was instantly hooked. I began training in iaido — which is the art of unsheathing and using the Japanese katana.
The katana is a sword developed during the Kamakura period — from 1185 to 1333 — and it became my passion. The idea for this course came from my desire to share this passion with others.
Read the full article on The Conversation.
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