Have you ever had the urge to behead someone? Now you can. Behead as many people as you like, and additionally slice off their limbs. But there are some restrictions: only between the hours of 7 and 9 on Tuesday nights at a particular dojo in the city of Okayama. Ueno-sensei would be your teacher -- eighth dan -- so you had best do what he says.
Welcome to the world of "yaido" (pronounced ee-eye-doh), the traditional sword fighting of the samurai warriors. Think of it as kendo with a sword instead of a stick. Although they don't behead real people anymore, this small group of five men wearing traditional black "hakama" hack up countless imaginary people in one session. "You try to visualize someone in front of you who is the same height and weight as yourself," said the soft-spoken Yagasaki-san, who is fourth dan.
Throughout the session, the men practiced various blows to the hapless imaginary person (hapless, in this case meaning without even a hap left): swoosh -- the side cut (beheaded!), another swoosh -- kneeling on one knee and cutting straight down (split in two!), swoosh -- the cut straight down (stabbed in the back!), and the last swoosh for finishing off: the diagonal cut (sashimi!). When finished, with incredible skill, these men grasp the sheath with their left hand and insert the sword with their right, never looking down.