Her thumb resting calmly
On the tsuba at her waist
Hakama straight, gi tidy
Bare feet still
But eager to move
He stands at the ready
Wicked stick in hand
Deceptively simple in its appearance
Tip forward, projecting his intent
Should she come forward
She stares through his throat
At imagined distant mountains
Enzan no metsuke
Beyond him, eyes unfocused
Taking all of him in
Fixed on the tachi before him
He sees her in her entirety
Shoulders back, standing straight
He stands calm and focused
She stands an overconfident fool
A brief flicker of determination
In her demeanor as she decides
This man with a simple stick in hand
Is now her target
She reaches for her sword
Drawing the blade decisively
She takes her first step forward
Posing the deadly edge towards him
Next to her face, her vision clear
She’s ready to cut him down
He observes her striding towards him
Unmoved by her arrogance
Or overt aggression; a brief pause
Before an eager flash in her eyes
As she lifts her blade
And brings the deadly tip
Towards his skull
Fully committed to cleaving it in two
And she certainly would have
Were it still there
The slight shift is all it takes
He feels the air against his cheek
(So close!) as he deftly sidesteps
Turning to the side
Thrusting wickedly at her solar plexus
Winded, stunned —
How could her attack have been so
Smoothly avoided?
She gasps for air
She’s on her back foot now
Thinking quickly, she steps back
Believing herself out of reach
Catching her breath
She retreats to a safer range
He pulls his stick behind him in response
She’s tilted now
Glaring, angry
She places her blade between them
Pointed at his face
Threat presented, prepared to thrust
There’s nothing to fear here
With this stick in hand
Her blade can surely
Never reach him in time
And he knows this
He’s had enough
Of this bravado, this posturing
He decisively sweeps the blade away
As if it were a mere insect
To be swatted
Stick before her eyes
There’s nowhere left for her to go
With any bit of safety,
Besides backwards in retreat
Defeated
November 6, 2024
(Describing a seitei kata in federation-style jodo called “Suigetsu”, which translates literally as “Water Moon” but is used to describe the solar plexus.)
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