As I admired the Dojo, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Suddenly, the door slid open, and my father entered along with my brother.
"I see you arrived early, Haruki. That is good," my father said.
"Yes, Father, I am excited to learn from you."
My father nodded at my response. Meanwhile, my brother went to the back of the Dojo, picked up a shinai (bamboo sword), bowed to my father, and began to practice.
He stood with his feet firmly on the floor and his knees slightly bent. He held the bamboo sword with both hands, raised his arms above his head, and then brought them down with firm intent, stepping forward during the cut, and then repeated the same movements.
While I watched my brother, my father approached me, also holding two bamboo swords.
"Haruki, don't just stand there watching, let's begin."
"Pay close attention to what I am about to say, because I will not repeat it twice," he said.
I took the shinai he handed me and nodded my head.
"Kenjutsu is not just a form of martial art, but it is also the path to self-growth, not only physical but also mental. It demands determination and willpower."
"Do you understand?" he asked seriously.
"Yes, Father," I replied to him.
"Good. I will begin by teaching you the most basic stance. Now pay close attention: this stance is called Kamae, the guard posture."
He assumed the guard stance: arms stretched forward, sword held with both hands, elbows slightly bent. His left foot was behind and his right foot was forward, both feet pointing in the same direction. The heel of his front foot touched the ground firmly, and the heel of the back foot was slightly raised, looking ready to push off.
"Haruki, in this position, your body's weight is centralized, which makes you ready to move your sword in any direction."
"Now, try to repeat it yourself."
I nodded my head and tried to assume the same position he had shown. As soon as I held the bamboo sword and tried to raise my arms, he touched my elbow with two fingers.
"Too high," he said.
Next, I tried to correct my feet to the same position he had shown.
"Too wide."
I corrected my feet, but after that, he poked both my shoulders.
"You're putting too much tension."
I hadn't realized how stiff I was until he said, "The sword must be firm, but the body… must be alive."
When I finally held the correct stance, I noticed something strange: my arms were shaking. The Shinai felt much heavier than I had imagined. It was just bamboo and wood, but it carried a greater weight than it seemed.
"Now raise the sword to the top of your head and cut down as fast as you can."
I swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and cut through the air.
The strike was… awful. Crooked, weak, slow.
"Again."
I cut another time.
"Again."
The third time already hurt. Not just my arms and legs, but my pride as well.
I lost track of time. There were only the strikes, the stance, the sweat dripping down my face, and the calm, almost impassive voice of the sensei.
Until finally, he said:
"Better."
It was one word that sounded like a prize.
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Without me even realizing it, night was falling. By the end of the training, my muscles were burning, my hands were trembling, and my mind… was strangely quiet. There was no frustration, only determination.
"From now on, until you have mastered the guard stance, I will teach you nothing else," he said.
After that, he turned and left.
After he was gone, I stayed there thinking. I realized that something in me had changed. This was enough to know that, from today on, I would have to forge my own path.
I looked around and realized that my brother had also left before I noticed. Since I was alone in the Dojo, I thought it was a great opportunity to begin my Nen training.
Nen is the technique of controlling the flow of Aura, which is the life energy produced by all living bodies, vital for survival and directly linked to physical endurance.
From what I remember of the original work, under normal conditions, the aura from all parts of the body tends to flow together, producing a single mass of energy. This happens without the individual being conscious of it, generally resulting in a slow and constant leakage of aura out of the body, without extremely harmful consequences, and emanating from the top of the head.
This means that all living beings possess aura, and it flows in a constant leak without us realizing it.
Learning to control the Aura Nodes is the first step to becoming a Nen user. Conversely, if someone whose aura nodes are fully open does not try to close them or control the flow of their aura, they will soon become so exhausted that they won't be able to stand up, may even lose consciousness, or could even die.
As I recall, a student learning Nen trains to manually open and close their aura nodes so they can control their aura flow. There are two ways to achieve this: one is the slow and careful method, where one gradually learns this process through meditation.
The other method is the fast and risky method, colloquially called Initiation, achieved by forcing the opening of the aura nodes through an influx of external aura, such as having someone who can already control their aura channel a mild burst of aura into the student's body.
Despite being much faster, this method is generally frowned upon by Nen instructors due to the danger it poses to the student if the user is inexperienced or has malicious intent, and it is not considered a standard teaching method.
Since I don't have anyone I can ask to help me go through Initiation by forcing their aura through my body, and since I also don't like the idea of putting my life in the hands of a stranger, I decided to go with the slow and careful method through meditation.