<Begin Segment 25>

SY: But you also were involved in iaido?

GN: It's called iaido.

SY: Iaido, sorry.

GN: Yeah, around 1960 I practiced that for a couple of years, but I focused on kendo at that time rather than iaido. And my last year in the state assembly, 2004, we always used to have an opening ceremony for the Asian Pacific heritage month, which is in May, and so I wanted to do the iaido demonstration on the assembly floor for the opening ceremony for the, my last year in office in 2004. So I felt that I really needed to practice, and so I started practicing from the year before that and a friend of mine that, we started kendo about the same time, but he kept up with iaido, and today he's probably the highest skilled instructor, American instructor in, he teaches kendo at Norwalk. And so --

SY: So they're kind of complementary.

GN: In a way.

SY: And so give us an idea.

GN: Well, it is complementary, but it's two different arts as well. One you use a real sword, whereas in kendo you use a bamboo sword and you always have an opponent, but in iaido you have an imaginary opponent.

SY: 'Cause you're using a real sword.

GN: Yeah. And you go through a prescribed routine. There's like seven, there's basically, I think there's ten movements, but it also depends on what school of art it is. And so I wanted to do the iaido demonstration, and not go through all ten but pick four different ones that it's enough variation so it makes it interesting. And so about a year I practiced that, so I would go to his dojo and he'll be teaching kendo up 'til nine o'clock, and so he'll tutor me on the iaido from nine to ten, so did that every Friday night. And then on Saturday -- not every Saturday, but I think the last Saturday of the month -- they would practice iaido, southern California group at the City of Industry sheriff's... the sheriff has a recreational area in City of Industry, so I used to go to that too. So that's what I did to prepare myself.

SY: And how did it turn out?

GN: It turned out well. So he, he watched me enough that, to tell me that, "I think you're ready now to do a demonstration," and so that's what I did, had my, actually my kendogi, and I had shipped my sword up when I flew from L.A. to, LAX to Sacramento, put it in one of these large plastic containers and they had to go through the special x-ray machine. Brought that sword up.

SY: This was post-9/11, huh?

GN: Yeah.

SY: And then you, did someone introduce it? How did...

GN: Yeah, so I had a script written for, actually, Leland Yee 'cause he was the president pro tem for the assembly, 'cause he'll do all the announcing, and so he would make the announcement and so I did my routine. And people are usually talking, but once I started the place just got dead silent. [Laughs]

SY: And how long was, how long did this last, this little routine?

GN: Maybe about ten minutes.

SY: And did you get personal reactions? Did people come up to you afterwards?

GN: Oh yeah.

SY: Impressed.

GN: Yeah, it was different for a lot of people. Some people had never seen it before.

SY: They had, you had to kind of explain what it was, right?

GN: Yeah.

SY: That's really interesting.

GN: But you, you're in a kneeling position and you're on your knees, and you have an imaginary opponent, and you do a quick draw.

SY: I wish you could do it for us now. [Laughs]

GN: And so you had to practice how to draw the sword out, also how to put the sword back in the scabbard without looking. And the interesting thing that I found is that in iaido, which is also true for police officer, when they shoot they say that you're supposed to shoot twice, not just once; in iaido you cut twice too. So you have an imaginary adversary in front of you and when you do the first move, you go for the throat with the sword going across, and then you come from the top and strike the head. And then the other moves are you have an adversary on side of you and maybe one behind you, and you go through the different cutting motions. And one of the things that is, after all the cuttings is finished for each of the moves, you snap the sword down like that and what you're doing you're shaking the blood off, and then you put the sword back.

SY: So did you find that this was a way of channeling that energy that you had as a young person?

GN: Yeah, it's total focus and in some ways it's more difficult because there isn't another person there, just an imaginary adversary.

SY: Right. So, but, but sort of...

GN: But it looks elegant, the whole, when you get proficient at it.

SY: I see. I see. Yeah, very, I can imagine. That's nice.

GN: And there was, there are a lot of Caucasians who are engaged in iaido who're really good. In fact, when I went to Italy two years ago we stayed at this person's, this couple's home, and the man there was iaido European champion twice, or three times. And so one evening he took me to his dojo where he teaches that, and I watched his routine and he was really superb.

SY: It's not a real common form of martial arts, or is it?

GN: Well, it's more of an art form than martial arts.

SY: I see. And did you find that you enjoyed that more or less than kendo?

GN: No, each has its uniqueness that is interesting and elegant, and so I don't think I would make a comparison in that way.

<End Segment 25> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.