what is the kanji for saya?
I have no 100% evidence this is the correct symbol, but it is related: The Soul of the Sword The relationship between the student and the sword must become symbiotic. The sword has a knowledge of itself that goes back to its ancestors’ inception. It knows what it is and it understands its purpose. That is why we bow to the sword at the beginning and end of training: we honour it as a living entity – not as something inanimate. Understanding this is very important: each sword has a soul and the symbiosis that is established between you becomes the intimate communion of your two souls. When the soul of the sword is honoured the blade will sing when we perform a cut. When we attempt to over-ride the sword by implementing our own will over the relationship it does not sing, because we are not trained sufficiently. Very often this occurs because the student has come back into his or her own head and is not working the ki. It happens when the student does not project ki; when the eyes look d
