look closely, This is what I picked up down at the beach to practice saber with. This long blade of dried grass was so light and fragile that I thought I would for sure bend it as I moved through the form. But as I aim to hold my metal saber I let it guide me. I held this stalk of grass the same way. It demanded a different kind of attention than what I was use to, a firm but ever so light hold. I couldn’t just whip it through the air, I had to guide it, float it, support it, follow it. I didn’t want it to buckle and bend in my hand but I wanted to move with a centered strength. All the force had to be inside me. That is hard to feel when I am yielding a heavy metal saber that demands attention, but this delicate blade of grass wasn’t going to balance me ….
I was on my own
I usually pick up a good sized stick when I practice sword or saber when I am away from my back yard, the kind a dog would pick up and proudly carry around, also, I pick up one that crosses my path, I don’t go hunting. There were no sticks in my path on this day, but there was this dried grass stalk at my feet. Are you kidding?! It had crossed my path so I picked it up wondering how the dickens I would find the ‘saber’ in this feather light elegant blade of grass.
~ what a huge lesson it taught me ~
[...] the tai chi yang 54 sword form with it. It was sturdier than the fragile grass blade I had held as saber just last week but it had the same effect of demanding I engage all my force into a sensitive [...]
Huge smile!