Some say the "hakaku suburito" came into being as a training aid for kenjutsu after Mushashi fought Kojiro at ganryu island. Rough translation is "big oar" for the boat oar Mushashi carved into a giant bokuto to have a longer reach than Kojiro's sword "the Drying Pole".
When I was training Tenshin ryu, we were encouraged to make our own as large as we could swing. We were warned of the possibility of injuring or embarrassing ourselves by taking very low wide stances and trying to figuratively split the earth with the oar.
So Fugi, has our hero embarrassed himself, (fundoshi burning time), or will Crabby have to teach him to walk like a crab for a few weeks?
