Takahashi placed a long, thick bamboo trunk in front of him and, taking his sword in both hands, raised it straight above his head.
He placed his left foot in front and his right foot behind, and, crouching slightly, his stance was firm and confident.
Then, pushing off from the ground with his feet, Takahashi swung down from above and, touching the ground, his right foot was already in front and his left foot behind, and lowering his sword to the ground, he seemed to crouch down, thus remaining in his stance.
Yarimato: What was that?
That thick bamboo didn’t even move.
Takahashi quietly rose and touched the bamboo with his finger, after which the thick bamboo split perfectly evenly in two.
The blow was so fast and powerful that the blade seemed to pass through the bamboo.
Takahashi: What you saw was the Waterfall technique.
The strike mimics the movement of water in a waterfall, so without any support under your feet, you must strike in such a way as to cut your opponent in half.
Of course, bamboo doesn’t have the same effect, but believe me, this technique is much more dangerous than the Wave Strike.
Yarimato: So, the secret of this technique is to learn to put all your strength into the strike and, without support under your feet, cut your opponent perfectly in half?
That’s impossible!
Especially for me!
Takahashi: If I can master it, so can you.
When I was young, I also had no strength and looked even thinner than you.
Where I lived, we were just surviving.
We had no food, and even if we did, the bandits would take it.
So, I was born into this world to suffer, but despite my poor eyesight, my weakness, and the fact that I was like a living skeleton, I didn’t give up.
I didn’t give up, and after coming up with my own fighting style and techniques, at the age of 16, I single-handedly killed 33 samurai who came to us every month and took our food.
Yarimato was shocked by these words, and he asked, “And what happened next?”
Takahashi: I left the village, abandoning my parents and my little brothers and sisters, and went far away.
From that day on, a new me appeared under the name Takahashi.
Yarimato was surprised by this story, and he couldn’t even believe that Takahashi was able to defeat so many enemies on his own when he was only 16 years old.
Takahashi: That’s why, Yarimato, you’re not as weak as you think.
At your age, I was like a skeleton, and that’s why many people thought I was death itself, who had descended into our world.
You, Yarimato, are thin and appear weak, so no one will believe what you are capable of, but that’s for the best, because the first mistake is to underestimate your enemy, and because of that, many have died by my sword.
Yarimato: All right, Takahashi-sensei, I won’t let you down and will do everything in my power.
Yarimato began by practicing his strikes, constantly striking from top to bottom, and even though it was the middle of March, Yarimato went to a waterfall and stood directly under it, waving his sword and repeating the movement of the water.
Takahashi also practiced his stance with Yarimato while performing the Waterfall technique.
Takahashi: At the beginning of the technique, your feet must stand so powerfully that you seem ready to push through the ground with your feet, and therefore, standing with your legs bent, you must jump like a spring, and then, during the strike, change your feet and, bending them, you must deliver a powerful blow exactly vertically.
But when Yarimato landed on the ground, the support under his feet disappeared, so Takahashi constantly pushed Yarimato in the back or side, and if Yarimato did not feel weak on his feet after the push, it meant that he would not be able to cut his opponent in half, since the stance at the beginning and end is a very important part that balances the energy after the strike.
There were many difficult details in this technique, and it was hard for Yarimato to perform, but he did not give up and continued to practice.
Day after day, Yarimato continued his training, and his stamina and strength improved with each passing day.
Yarimato began to understand this technique, so he decided to start practicing the strike.
Yarimato spent a whole day chopping down the thickest bamboo, bringing it to the mountain, and placing it there.
He then began practicing the strikes under Takahashi’s supervision so that Takahashi could point out Yarimato’s mistakes.
The first attempts were not very impressive, and so the blade either got stuck in the wood or Yarimato only grazed it with the tip of his sword.
Sitting down on the ground, Yarimato did not understand what he was doing wrong, so Takahashi took his sword and decided to show him how it should be done.
Takahashi: Your mistake is that you are striking just to touch the bamboo, but you should not touch it with the tip, you should cut it into two equal parts, and therefore the strike should be made not with the tip, but with the upper part of the katana.
Yarimato: How do I know which part of the blade to strike with?
Takahashi: Take your sword and try to divide its blade into three equal parts.
If you start from the end of the sword, then this one third of the blade is what you need to strike with for this technique.
Takahashi stood directly in front of the bamboo and, standing on the ground without moving his feet, took a step and struck the bamboo, cutting it into two equal parts.
Yarimato: Takahashi-sensei, shouldn’t you have struck while falling after the jump?
To which Takahashi replied: the jump only gives this technique more energy for the strike, and thanks to it, you can cut this bamboo, but I can cut it without the jump.
Yarimato: What about the opponent?
Takahashi: If I had struck while jumping, I could have easily cut my opponent in two, but if I had struck while standing, my blade would not have been able to cut him completely, because when you jump, you add the weight of your body and energy to the strike.
Even when you touch the ground, you have to crouch down so that the blade touches the ground, and only then will the enemy be cut in two, just like this bamboo.
Yarimato got to his feet and continued to strike the bamboo, and then Yarimato went back to the waterfall and, standing under it, began to strike from top to bottom in the same way.
All wet and tired, Yarimato returned to the dojo in the evening and hung his clothes up to dry.
He put on his usual kimono and went into the living room, where he saw Takahashi drinking his tea.
Takahashi: Yarimato-kun, bring another teapot and take a cup for yourself.
Sit with me.
Takahashi said in a calm and warm voice.
Yarimato took everything he needed, sat down opposite his teacher, and poured him some tea. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Yarimato: Did you want to talk about something, teacher?
Takahashi: Not really.
I just want you to sit here and keep me company.
Yarimato: Takahashi-sensei, I wanted to ask you something.
Takahashi: Go ahead.
Yarimato: How did you find this place and decide to teach your students here?
Also, this place looks very expensive, as if your garden is even better than the Shogun’s, and you have three maids, and you constantly drink expensive tea and eat delicious fish and rice, so I wonder where you got all this wealth?
Did you achieve all this through your own strength?
Takahashi put his cup on the table, took off his glasses, and said, “It’s a very long story, but once upon a time, a girl who was the daughter of a ruler fell in love with me, but we were not meant to be together because her father wanted to marry her off to a young man whose father was also a ruler, and therefore their marriage would have formed an alliance between the two clans.
One day, I was hired to kill that girl’s husband, but I didn’t do it for her sake and for her happiness.
Yarimato: And what happened to that girl?
Takahashi: One day, I was hired by her and her clan because her husband had enemies who planned to destroy their clans, so her husband and I, along with the samurai, fought back in battle.
Thanks to my strength, we defeated the enemies and won.
The clan was saved, but the girl’s husband died in that battle, so she was left all alone.
Yarimato: Was that what she wanted?
Didn’t she want to live with you here on the mountain?
Takahashi: If only it were that easy.
They already had three boys, and the eldest was over ten, so when she was given power over two clans and responsibility for her children, she couldn’t just abandon everything.
So, she had to accept her fate.
Yarimato: And what about her now?
Takahashi: She’s fine now, her eldest son has already taken control of the clans, and I visit her about every five years.
Yarimato: So why aren’t you together?
Takahashi: That’s another story.
Yarimato and Takahashi ended their conversation, and Yarimato went to bed.
The end of arc: The Strongest Disciple