The Meeker herald., 1905-07-01

a0Orc0 sun rag, anu u LII NippOu.
1t has always been, and is still to-day,
n process of which the far-famed @jiu-
jitsu" is but fractional element. The
training commences almost in infancy,
for a child of four is considered quite
old enough to become a subject of the
four drastic disciplines which enter
into this extraordinary course Of mill
tary education in the very home itself.
These are applied to the training of
the muscles. the stomach, the nerve
and the soul. "a.
The discipline of the muscles consti-
tutes the first part of this formidable
program. When the little lad has
passed his fourth birthday, he is one
snowy winters morning awakened by
his father, and told to dress himself for
his initial fencing lesson, from mas
business of dressing is, on this occa-
sion. simple enough. for the apparel
donned is only single thin shirt and
..hakama," or short divided skirt.
The fencing master and his baby pupil
go out together. barefOOted, on to the
snow. Noticing the shivering of the
little boy the tutor encourages him with
the assurance that within n few min
utes he will be delightfully."- warm. The
sham fight begins. Master and scholar
have bamboo swords. The child wears
padded gauntlets and eace guard.
His master, holding out his weapon,
bids the boy strike as freely MS he
pleases at 1t. This is the beginning Of
muscle training for his arms. In few
minutes the young pupil is glowing and
perspiring. He knows that he Is to
become one Of his country's champions.
He has never belonged to himself
since the moment when his mother, as
soon as she could take him to the
temple, laid him on the altar at the
shrine of the guardian deity of the
district, as gift to the ad0red nation,
and an embryo patriot-hero.
Every day there must follow some
amount of muscle-training by the prac-
tice of the art of sword-play. For
there must be no relaxation. The
muscles must be developed day by day.
Then come lessons in tina marvellous
'tjiu-j itsu," which means the art of
yielding, or Of overcoming stronger
wrestiers by the physical paradox Of
making their very strength their great
est disadvantage. 1t Is the develop
ment of fine quality, not of conspicuous
quantity, in the muscles, which the
Nippon trainers value. The agility of
the well-taught hut slightly built
wrestling contortionist is magical, and
well-nigh incredible, but long years are
spent in the cultivation of the exacting
art in which the eye and the perceptive
faculties, as well as the muscular sys-
TEN, are magnidcently trained.
The mastering of appetite is the Sec
ond stage Of Juvenile Samurai instruc-
ton. The stomach has to attend this
severe school as well as the muscle.
The child is still very young when his
father suddenly one day begins to the
orize to him on the probabilities Of a
time of war. Talking of the contin-
gencies of campaign. he explains
that some day, when he is grown
soldier, fighting for the defense Of his
Emperor. he may be besieged In for
tress, without food or drink. And In
order to acquire adequate powers Of
endurance, every true young patriot
of Nippon should begin betimes to prac-
tice abstinence, as If actually under
going the direst ordeal of war. Now
begins a month OF semi-starvation.
Nothing but the smallest quantity of
rice than can sustain life is allowed,
the only relish added being few pieces
of picked ''daikon," popular kind OF
radish. But what makes this period
of training extra severe is that hard
exercise is imposed, part of the philos-
ophy of the discipline being that a
siege is anything but a time Of mac
ton. my friends father" says Adachi
Konnisuki, in the days OF this made
to-order starvation, had him climb a
mountain, chop wood, roll 1.-THE logs.
and subjected him to all manner of
physical exertion. One day, when he
was about fifteen years of age, he was
sent out upon long journey. His ser
want accompanied him, and he was al
lowed to have two bowls of rice, a
piece OF dried fish and two cups of
water per day to sustain himself. At
one time he was sent to Mount Atago.
He was told to spend fifteen days on
the mountain, and to sustain himself
with whatever he could find with his
own hands"
In facts like these we discover the
reason why the Japanese troops were
able to tramp such great distances day
after day, on the rough mountainous
tracks of Korea, to deliver three frontal
attacks ON the temperament forti.
fications of Liaoyang, and to master
the complicated and tortuous Man
churiai. geography, IN the ridicuiousiy
scanty rations Of rice, dried Dish and q
few stray picked plurns.
Thirdly. comes the discipline Of nerve
and soul. II recall" says KinnOsuki
.how we used to go to an old deserted
house which stood on the outskirts OF
the castled town of Kameyarna. There