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    techniques known as kata that involve the art of drawing and
    cutting with the Japanese sword. In the first kata thatthey typi-
    cally learn, students sit in the formal kneeling position, their
    swords sheathed. As they sense an attack being launched from
    the front, they rise on their knees, then draw the sword from
    its sheath and cut in a wide lateral arc across their front, plant-
    ing their right foot forward so that only the left knee remains
    touching the ground.
    In the sequence as traditionally practiced, the lateral swipe
    is followed up with a vertical cut. The idea is that your attacker,
    kneeling before you, starts to move. You swipe at him, but he
    jerks back just out of range. You follow up by drawing yourself
    forward with your right leg and then cutting down in what is
    meant to be a decisive attack to the head.
    As I say, it’s pretty standard. Except in Yamashita’s dojo. He
    doesn’t think it’s particularly realistic that someone who has
    dodged your first strike would remain seated and waiting for
    your follow up. Much more likely, he says, that the attacker
    would rear up and then back away, well out of range.
    21
    John Donohue
    Which means you have to chase him.
    It sounds simple enough, but Yamashita is always as inter-
    ested in finesse as he is in functionality. In many ways, he doesn’t
    even consider them two separate things. So in his dojo, after the
    first cut, the swordsman has to lunge far forward while remain-
    ing crouched. Your opponent is standing up by this point and
    expects you to rise as well. So, my teacher explains, you do the
    opposite and pursue him from the lower position, driving for-
    ward while remaining alert to the possibility of counterattack.
    It sounds easy, but is difficult to pull off. The crouching
    position is awkward, and it takes time to get the knack of using
    your muscles correctly. If you rely too much on the left foot to
    propel you, you tend to topple forward, providing a dangerous
    gap for your opponent to exploit. Too much right leg, and you
    drag yourself forward and can’t move fast enough or far enough
    to be effective. In years past, when Yamashita demonstrated the
    technique, it looked as if he was being jerked across the floor by
    an invisible wire: a feral gnome bent on your destruction. His
    posture was impeccable, and his hips drove him forward while
    his legs worked smoothly together to close the gap between
    him and his opponent, his eyes intent and his sword boring in
    for the kill.
    The visual memory of that attack burns in my brain like
    the afterimage of a lighting flash. I work every day to replicate
    it. That day, I had demonstrated the basic idea and a less ter-
    rifying version of the move itself to the men and women at the
    seminar. They watched me coldly, nodding as I shot across the
    floor. I could see the thought flash across their eyes: if he can do
    it, I can . Then I began what for those people was probably one
    of the most unpleasant hours of their lives. Because the only
    way to begin to learn something like this is through repetition.
    22
    Kage
    I had them lurch back and forth across the dojo floor. The
    line of trainees completed the awkward trip. “Good,” I com-
    mented flatly. “Again.” They churned across the floor once
    more. When they got back, more than a few began to stand to
    take some of the strain off their legs. I shook my head but didn’t
    say a word, just swept my arm back in the direction that they
    had come. Off they went.
    After thirty minutes or so, their faces were flushed with
    effort, their palms sweaty on the handle of their wooden train-
    ing swords. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sarah blow a
    strand of her fine brown hair away from her eyes, draw a focus-
    ing breath, and stoically continue. She needed no prodding.
    Breath control was second nature to most of these people,
    but even so I heard some gasps. I knew that their leg muscles
    felt as if they were on fire. But I kept them