Feudal Japan: Swords Martial Arts&Zen school. Anyone?

[Twinklemoon]

Hello!

I'll keep this here short. If enough people is interested, I'll give more details in the official OOC. If, because of this, you have any questions, please just go ahead and ask away!



The Idea

Simple.

I once took part in a roleplay about a school that teaches the art of the sword in feudal japan, but it died too fast for my tastes. So here I am now, searching for people who would be interested. I have read the big lines of japan history and settled on the date 1636, after the Sakoku edict of Shogun Iemitsu Tokugawa, forbidding anyone from leaving, or entering, the island. Now, I don't ask of anyone to be a professional historian at all. If you have any kind of questions about that subject, you can ask me without problems. If you happen to know more than me, that is perfectly fine too. :P

I don't have any terms yet for the school or the art that will be taught there other than it being about classical Japanese sword fighting and zen purposes. There will be two schools, and two different styles. There will be only two teachers, one for each schools. The masters - or Sensei - will be the ones knowing all the secrets of their styles. I coudl end up playing both teachers, but I may be convinced to let someone else play one of them however he or she sees fit.

There won't be any official student ranks properly speaking. There will, however, be more senior students. They will be the ones that have been studying at the school for a long time. Skills will have nothing to do with the ranks, only time spent at the school will. The most ancient students will even be allowed to give lessons if they have been judged ready by the Master of the school.

One of the school, to be determined, will teach both swords and zen arts. This means Tea ceremony will be as important as sword practice! The other school will be more focused on rigorous training of a more straightforward technique.

As promise, I'll keep this short. This is as much information as needed for now. The OOC will be more complete, with much more details, visual information, pictures and details about the time period.

[Twinklemoon]

Bump !

[CoyoteKisses]

Color me interested!

[Edit]

For the ranks, perhaps you could use titles that are used in kendo? Just a suggestion. :3

Mew

Sho-dan - The first dan level can be tested for after 3 months as an i-kyu.
Ni-dan - One full year must be spent as a sho-dan before testing for ni-dan.
San-dan - After two years as a ni-dan, the kendoka may test for san-dan.
Yon-dan - Three years after achieving San-dan testing for this level is allowed.
Go-dan - After four years as a yon-dan, testing is available.
Roku-dan - Five years must be spent as a go-dan before testing.
Nana-dan - Six year as a Roku-dan
Hachi-dan - 10 years or more must pass before testing for hachi-dan is allowed.

[Nobodyman123]

Ill keep an eye on this.

[Twinklemoon]

Glad to see it's sparking people's interest! ^^

@CoyoteKisses I was not aware that there were that many ranks, but it sure will come in handy! I will probably reconsider, and add those in. Thanks a lot!

[Ryu]

Let's rephrase this question of mine so it looks better and is easier to understand,

Can we have a character be taught in a less known style of Japanese Swordsmanship of Kenjutsu?

[CoyoteKisses]

Twinklemoon said
@CoyoteKisses I was not aware that there were that many ranks, but it sure will come in handy! I will probably reconsider, and add those in. Thanks a lot!

No problem! I'm a kendoka myself (Two years exp. in a Korean dojang and [currently] four months in a Japanese dojo) so I only know the basics for the Japanese style [I'm a NEWBBBB now]. Anyways, if you need any help with anything kendo orientated, I'll be willing to give it my all!

Ryu said Can we have a character be taught in a less known style of Japanese Swordsmanship of Kenjutsu?

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

[Twinklemoon]

Ryu said
Let's rephrase this question of mine so it looks better and is easier to understand,

Can we have a character be taught in a less known style of Japanese Swordsmanship of Kenjutsu?

If I understood your question correctly, this should answer it. Both schools will have only one style to teach, as it should. However neither will be only the 'Basic' kendo. I will go fetch the exact and official names when I'll make the OOC, but I can tell you this now; ONe of the school will be about two swords fighting. The other will be about cutting with the blade, probably from the sheath, Zen meditation, Etc.

@CoyoteKisses Really? I envy you! I always wanted to do this, but never actually found a school here to teach it. Or dojo. I sure welcome your help. ^^ Of course, since this is a RP, If you see I lack some terms at some point don't hesitate to teach them to me! Consider it a special demand. :P

[YuukiSuzuki]

Wow this so reminds me of the Young Samurai series!

Question will Kyūdō be involved in this. Kyūdō being the way of the bow.

[Twinklemoon]

The schools will be centered around the practice of the sword, and I'd prefer to keep this fact as the main focus of the Roleplay. Since the roleplay will take place probably in Kyoto, however, nothing keeps you from attending another Dojo for the bow, or knowing it already.

While the Katana was important, I know from researches that the two first important weapons of a Samurai was Bow and Horses. The reason why I keep the focus to swords, however, is because it will take place in a time of peace. The roleplay will start after the clans war. After the Tokugawa clan became Shogun, and a year after the Japan closed it's borders to any outsider and kept anyone from leaving.

Like I said, though, nothing keeps you from including it in your character. :)

IMPORTANT EDIT:

I just realized something really important. A mistake of mine. I created two different Interest check, and one of them had differences. Important changes, so to say. I just edited modified the first post to put them in. Without it, some of what I said may have been misleading before. There will be two rival schools in the town, and the Roleplay will focus around that! It's written on the first post now. :)

Sorry. x)

[CoyoteKisses]

B-e-m-p !

I like the change!~ I can already smeeelll... intense rivalry. Anyways, can't wait till this RP get's sorted out and sent off.

Question: Do you sort of know what the second dojo will be focused about? Straight-laced rigorous training of?

[Twinklemoon]

Two-Swords fighting style, probably. I cannot remember the japanese exact term, but I know it originated from Miyamoto Mushashi. I think that I'll focus on writing the more detailed OOC now that I know it sparkled the interests of some people. :)

I am hoping the actual OOC will bring more.

[YuukiSuzuki]

Niten Ichi-ryū, otherwise known as 'One School, Two Heavens' or 'The school of the strategy of two heavens as one'.

Shall we assume that the first school with focus solely on Ittō-ryū?

[Twinklemoon]

I wanted the first school to focus on the Iaido.

'The way of mental presence and immediate reaction.' Basically striking from the sheath. It's supposed to need both a Zen mind and good practice to master, so it fits precisely as what I wanted.

Also, thank you for the time. It's exactly that. :)

EDIT: For all of you who are still around, here is the official OOC!
If you think anything is missing, just tell me. I might have forgotten something! ;)

[Twinklemoon]

Bump ! OOC is out, and we are still looking for more people. :)

[CoyoteKisses]

BEMP!

[Twinklemoon]

Bemp? Bemp.

[CoyoteKisses]

Bempy bemp bemp

[CoyoteKisses]

Bempy bempy bemp !

[Metal Zeta]

Yo this seems neat. Ya'll still looking for new people to join?