Thanks to the plague, it is rare we have the opportunity to do these anymore.
My uke, O’Brien Sensei, and I, have been presenting these for so long they have become an entertainment piece we perform for young children.
Nevertheless, there is always the hope that there will be an educational impact as well. An illustration of how traditional martial arts is not television, movies, sport or competition. That swords do not go schwinnnng when they are drawn.
We received the usual and predictable round of questions: ‘Are you going to use nun chucks?’, ‘Are the swords real?’, ‘Does that hurt?’, ‘Is he okay?’ (I’ve never understood why they are always so concerned about my uke when I am the one being attacked.)
Then one child says, ‘It looks like you are dancing.’
‘Yes,’ I say, ‘It is very dance like.’
‘You are a good dancer,’ they say.
Kai Cho