Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.
Title of 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.
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