TAG! Storyline 1
March 21st, 2009 mattdaddy(begins 11:06am Saturday 3/21/09 EST)
Arms aching, he unties the himo strings fastening his men, or headgear, and pulls them loose. Using one hand to hold the men and the other to pull it from around his face, he rests it on top of his kote, or gloves that have been set in front of him to one side. The ceremony inherent in Kendo is as important as the swing of the sword or the kiai, or yell, of the strike. He pulls off the soaked headcloth using it to wipe away the sweat from his face and neck. Folding it and dropping it into his men, he looks across the floor to his opponent, who is doing the same thing. She is slight, dark, and at least a foot shorter than he, and yet her composure is unruffled as she pulls the cloth from her head and folds it neatly inside her men. Taking the himo strings and placing them inside their men, they both move back into a kneeling position, hands placed lightly on their thighs. Waiting a beat and mirroring one another, they place first the left hand, then the right hand on the floor, forming a triangle and bowing over it, their necks parallel to the floor, eyes looking directly into the triangle formed by their hands.
“Arigato Gozaimashita” they say in unison. Returning to their original position, the ceremony done, the slight woman’s face bursts into a beatific smile. The man cannot help but return it, knowing that the diminuitive Sensei is happy with his sparring, and as she nods slightly, confirms his deduction that she is indeed pleased.
“Your skill has improved now that you have conquered your need to always strike hard and fast. Patience is a weapon you don’t often use Kohai” she finishes, using the term for junior student. Applause erupts behind him as all of the Senpai, or senior students, clap their approval. She nods once more, picking up her men and kote, allowing him a moment to undo his armor and pack up. It was an interesting day 3 years ago when he walked into the dojo for the first time, nervous and not knowing what to expect. His co-worker Terri had been the one to suggest it.
“Matt, you need to get out and get your rah rah’s out. Sitting cooped up here isn’t going to help!” she had told him the afternoon before. It had been almost a year since the accident, and while the doctors had all confirmed that physically he was fine, he was still a bit reluctant to go out and “do” anything. “You sit behind the computer all day, working on your projects, but you don’t get out at all. I know it’s winter, but you have to do SOMETHING!” He and Terri had hit it off immediately when he began working for the company several years before. He liked to think of her as the sister he never had. After the accident when he started working from home more and more, she would stop by on her way home to check up on him.
She was right, he knew, but it was simpler to be alone, and stay in. Kneeling in the dojo three years later, he was glad that he had listened to her. His senpai and kohai patted him on the back congratulating him on his testing as he began to remove the laquered breastplate, or do, and apron or tare, tying them together in one package and stowing them in his gear back with his kote, and men. The do, and tare, were a present from Terri and some of the others at work. After he had told them about the class and had been going for several weeks, they all noticed that he was getting out of the house and spending more and more time in the office instead of home alone. He knew that they listened to him rattle on about the things he learned and loved them for the fact that although he knew none of them understood half of what he was talking about, they were happy for him nonetheless.
They had all helped him come out of a long dark tunnel, and today was proof that he was on his way to whatever awaited him instead of waiting for things to come to him.
Picking up his gear bag, he walked into the locker room and changed out of his uniform back into his street clothes. He shook hands and chatted about his test with several of the people still there before making his way out to his car. Not wanting to wait until he got home, he clipped the handsfree headset to his ear and speeddialed Terri at home. Her husband picked up on the first ring.
“Hey Matt, how did the test go?” he said in a friendly voice.
“Wow, I’m about to fall over, but I wanted to tell Terri, is she around?” Matt asked carefully. He always felt like he intruded on Terri’s life, but he knew for a fact that Terri’s husband was a generous guy and loved his wife all the more for how Terri had helped him out of his hole.
He laughed, “Nope, sorry. My looney wife is out running right now.”
“Running? I’ve still got my snow tires on!” Matt blurted incredously. He carefully backed out of his spot and turned onto Main St, heading towards his apartment.
“Heh, yeah I know. I’m not sure what she was thinking. She woke up in a weird mood this morning. She always runs first thing when she’s feeling like this. I’ll have her give you a call when she gets back okay? How did you do?”
“Better than I thought, passed with flying colors” Matt said. “Thanks man, have her give me a buzz later, k?”
“Will do.”
Snow crunched under her feet as her legs warmed up…… is continued on Terri’s blog
(edit 3/22/09 – the link goes to her entry now)
