This picture is from late 2009 – I had a few days’ intensive work a couple stations out from Yokohama. I had to stay in the company’s training center for the duration (bland, bland bland) but could escape for an hour or two early each morning. Less than 10 minutes’ walk put me in a bamboo grove atop a small hill.
No wire action kung fu shit, just me and the trees and the early morning breeze which had the bamboo swaying this way and that. Our first group xing yi quan demo was coming up, so I worked through most of it – the five basic fists, connected fists form, bashi, the tiger form to cap it off. I started doing the xing yi spear form empty handed until the obvious dawned on me.
In the middle of a mini-bamboo forest, I soon found a 9-foot section of bamboo and got to work. Though longer than my usual spear by a few feet, curved a bit with age, and much rougher on the hands, it was really ideal.
I had brought along a miniature arsenal in my rolling suitcase: nunchaku, sai, and tekko nestled among my business suits, as well as a cheap collapsible jian sword for good measure.
Either in my cramped room or outdoors, they all saw service. Yet the best training equipment had been waiting for me atop that lonely, untravelled hill.
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