Pigskin Samurai

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/02/2011 (5719 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It is a deep, guttural and completely spine-tingling scream that seems to emanate from the very core of Obby Khan.

It is released with purpose and meaning, to be sure, but Khan’s battle cry also comes in such a quick blast it would be enough to peel paint and rattle windows.

Outside the mercury is but a blip and snowdrifts are forming in the parking lot and at the front door of the Manitoba Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. Yet inside, the Winnipeg Blue Bomber centre is purposefully striding barefoot across the floor while thrusting a bamboo sword at an imaginary opponent.

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He and a dozen or so others ranging in age from 12 to 60 are here bowing to each other with respect, yelling out Japanese terms like ‘men’, and ‘kote’ all the while working up a sweat so intense Khan insists he has strained muscles he honestly didn’t know existed in his 6-foot-3, 300-pound frame.

Welcome, sports fans, to the Manitoba Kendo Club.

And welcome to Obby Khan’s latest — and without a doubt, unique — attempt to spice up his off-season training.

 

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"I found this place just by Googling it," Khan begins. "I knew of kendo already and then the Manitoba Kendo Club came up. The same day I Googled it they had a class for beginners. So at about 3:30 I was on my computer and at 7:30 I was here for my first class."

‘Kendo’ is Japanese for ‘Way of the Sword’ and is a version of the art of swordsmanship practised by the Samurai. Khan will admit his fascination with ninjas and movies like ‘The Last Samurai’ have always intrigued him. So, yes, picking up a bamboo sword and waving it about was a big reason he was initially drawn to the sport.

What he discovered minutes into his first session, however, has left a much deeper impression.

"I don’t want to say every guy growing up dreams of using a sword — I know when I brought it up with Doug Brown he said, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do any sword fighting’ — but the majority of kids when they’re watching movies or cartoons or playing video games, the sword-fighting part appeals to them," Khan said. "It’s something I’ve always loved and never grew out of. But once I got here I found there’s a lot more to it — the traditions, the rituals… and, most of all, it’s fun.

"The Japanese culture really appeals to me because of their rituals, their respect, the honour and integrity and to wrap that all up into sword fighting and I think it’s just amazing."

Now, you must understand something about Khan, the 30-year-old Ottawa product who has spent the last five years in the employ of the Bombers and just recently signed a new contract. Engaging and gregarious, he is open-minded to try almost anything. He is an XXL Ferris Bueller — ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it’ — with a big bushy black beard and arms the size of tree trunks.

"This is fulfilling a childhood dream, for sure," Khan admitted. "But it’s also about keeping your workouts fresh and finding something you like to do. I want to get good at it.

"I don’t know if the sport translates to football as well as kick-boxing or boxing does, for example. But it does teach you discipline, basic footwork and mind over body. You see the senseis over there doing 500 strikes? I’m done after 25. So how is a 60-year-old doing 500 strikes and I can only do 25 and yet I can bench press 400 pounds? They teach about dealing with pain. I’ve learned footwork and staying calm through my movements and strikes.

"It’s also about reading your opponent and if I can take that to the football field… it’s about getting any kind of edge."

Khan had attended seven kendo classes before heading to Pakistan in mid-February to attend a family function. His sensei, David Westhead, has been impressed with Khan’s athletic skills like footwork and his pure strength, but there’s something else that caught him immediately about his burly protege.

"There’s a saying in kendo: ‘An ocean becomes great because it rejects no water.’," said Westhead. "Obby’s so humble about learning small techniques about posture and how to move forward and develop a strong spirit. Even if he knows these things from other sports, he’s willing to take the ideas from anywhere he can find them. And I think that’s going to benefit him.

"Now, how do I think it’s going to translate onto the football field? It will help him mentally. The mind leads the body. And," Westhead said with a grin, "he’s got the scream down."

"It’s funny," added Khan, "now that I’ve been here for awhile when I go to the gym and I have a bench or squat you’ll hear a ‘Hiiiyeeeee!!!’ come out of me. It’s your inner energy, your inner voice. I guess it’s your intimidation factor. If you can yell and scare the hell out of the guy across from you it gives that slight hesitation. For the first timers, the first time they yell it’s like, ‘Whoa. What’s going on?

"But you know what? I’m not doing it just to help me in football. I’m doing it because I love it. The biggest obstacle for me, the reason I didn’t start this until I was 30, was because I was worried about what people might think and if I could find a place like this. But this is different, it’s fun.

"I feel like a kid again. Swords are awesome. Awesome."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Check out the video at winnipegfreepress.com

 

 

 

A KENDO PRIMER

 — Japanese for ‘Way of the Sword’.

— Called a modern ritualized version of Japanese fencing and based on the art of swordsmanship kenjutsu practiced by he Samurai.

— In 1975 the All Japan Kendo Federation published The Concept and Purpose of Kendo. It reads:

 CONCEPT

Kendo is a way to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the katana.

 PURPOSE

— To mould the mind and body.

— To cultivate a vigourous spirit,

And through correct and rigid training,

— To strive for improvement in the art of kendo.

— To hold in esteem human courtesy and honour.

— To associate with others with sincerity.

And to forever pursue the cultivation of oneself.

Thus will one be able:

— To love one’s country and society;

— To contribute to the development of culture;

— And to promote peace and prosperity among all peoples.

 The equipment: A shinai represents a Japanese sword (katana) and is made up of four bamboo slats held together by leather fittings.

Participants wear protective armour and padded gloves to protect the scoring targets: head, arm and torso.

There are four main target areas that will immediately end a match:

1. ‘Men’ (the top of the head); 2. ‘Kote’ (right wrist) and Hidari-Kote (left); 3. ‘Dou’ (the trunk of the body); and 4. ‘Tsuki’ (the throat).

 THE MANITOBA KENDO CLUB

 One of Canada’s oldest practising clubs has been in Winnipeg for over 40 years.

Home: the Manitoba Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, 180 McPhillips Street

For more information visit: www.manitobakendoclub.com.