You know, from our point of view today, it would be a bad thing if practicing muto dori in the dojo made a student overconfident. If someone got the idea from muto dori that they could easily deal with an armed opponent, got into a fight with an armed opponent, and got themselves hurt/killed, that would typically be a bad thing.
Does the same hold true of fuedal Japan? Most of the koryu seem to have been designed primarily to train soldiers. I would think that any training that would make them more likely to charge recklessly forward into a dangerous situation would be a good thing, at least as far as front-lines troops is concerned (not from the point of view of the troops themselves, of course). From what little I know of the history of military combat training, most of it seems to be geared towards helping people overcome their natural reluctance to getting too close to pointy things, or the reluctance normal people feel towards taking human life.
Originally Posted by
renfield_kuroda
Then again, I once talked to a huge (like I've ever seen a small) US Marine who, when asked what he would do if we faced off with swords, replied: "I would throw the sword at you and follow it in."
Isn't that just the type of attitude that you want a front-lines soldier to have? Isn't that just the type of attitude that Marine training is designed to produce? (I'm asking because I'm not entirely sure-- someone with more first-hand knowledge may be able to correct my misconceptions) Maybe some of the samurai sword instructors of old thought it wouldn't be such a bad thing if their students walked out of the dojo with that type of attitude.
David Sims
"Cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia et cerebellum." - Terry Pratchet
My opinion is, in all likelihood, worth exactly what you are paying for it.