The Tales of the Ninja Coder

I have not made a report for quite some time. As I wrote before, my time with Clan Nettobuku is done, and not by my choice.

I returned to Castle Nettobuku to inform Commander Kobushi and Lord Tai of my decision, and to take my leave of the other clan-members. Everyone seemed sorry to see me go. (Jimon was not there that day.) Daigo, in particular, seemed quite stunned and somewhat upset.

Kobushi and Tai were both pleased by my professionalism, and promised to give good report of me to any other clans that might ask. They say that the campaigns Nettobuku has engaged in, and the skills required of me, have been completely different from what I originally was told. As true as this may be, however, I feel that the ability to adapt to unexpected and changing circumstances is a necessary skill for a ninja. My failure to do so disturbs me greatly.

Shortly after leaving the castle for the last time, I became ill, and spent two weeks recovering. Since then, I have been in Henshukoku, practicing my skills.

I have reconsecrated the town's shrine to Bishamonten. I have cleared out some space in the yard of the house I share with Akane, and set up some practice dummies that I can use to practice strikes against. The yard now qualifies as a small dōjō of its own, set up for practice of both sansetsukon and ninja-to kata as well as the weighted chain. (I'm still in good shape with the chain... but I've gotten very rusty at using the Pirōto-style hook, which is far more popular than the Mūtou-style that Nettobuku favored.)

I have set myself a training regime, and I spend part of each day doing kata and drills. I have been converting one of my ninja-to kata into the Living Stone style, for a firm grounding in the Living Stone ryū is an absolute necessity. I have also been learning the art of poisoning my weapons, and adapting my kata to take account for the poison's effects.

And I go every day to Yagyū, to spend time in the inns and hiring halls where messengers from the martial clans and armies come to recruit skilled warriors for Nihon's never-ending battles and war campaigns. But right now, everyone is preparing for o-shōgatsu, so there are no messengers to be found. I can only hope that things will improve once the holidays are over.

 
I have been fighting hard using the three-sectional staff and the chain-and-grappling-hook at the same time, scampering over the roofs in Nara, the ancient capital, and chasing down our Takusan Clan enemies in the lakeside city of Hikone. It started off as something incredibly frustrating, as there were some bits of the Jōgesen-style footwork that were still eluding me. But I finally got those (with a bit of help from Bunmei), and today, the chase and the battle has become almost thrilling.

I remember what it's like to do ferocious battle across the rooftops again.

Unfortunately, I now need to head back to the castle for a major planning meeting, where we will plan the beginning of our Hitotsu Rokko campaign, which begins next week. Luckily, clearing the foes in Hikone and Nara will be a major step toward our campaign goals, so I'm getting a head-start on that aspect of things.

(I swear, I didn't choose the music on purpose! It just happens to be beautifully appropriate.)

 
It is a foggy, misty day in Iga, and I am hard at work learning the Aka Hōseki Jōgesen style of sansetsukon fighting. Luckily, I was able to impress General Kobushi yesterday when we needed some Pagoda Bearer fighting done — Kobushi thought we would have to slay a large number of enemies, which we weren't really prepared for. But using some ninja techniques, I was able to whittle them down quickly and achieve a satisfactory resolution.

Next week, Clan Nettobuku will move to its new castle, not far from Henshukoku. The journey to the new castle will be an easy stroll across northern Yamato Province to Izumi. It will be interesting. Sadly, my fellow warriors Bunmei, Tomo, and Daigo will be coming from much further away. I hope they are not too fatigued by their journeys.

I am working hard to be accepted and admired by my new clan. I think it is going well. It is a small clan, so there are not too many people to get to know. They all seem good at their duties, and friendly as well. My fellow warriors are quite formidable, and I am confident that we will prove adequate to face down whatever enemies the clan decides to face.

But in order to do so, it will be very important to become more skilled with the sansetsukon. So, I return to my studies. Gambarimasu!


Edited to Add: In my studies, I have been guided by the very useful scroll called Sure-Footed Combat With Jōgesen (3rd edition), by the Pragmatic Warriors. I have just reached the point in my studies where I have started leap-frogging ahead of the moves and kata in the scroll.

I just read: "Of course, this technique would need to be altered if fighting in a forest, lest the end of the staff get tangled in underbrush on the downward sweeping motions. Let's look at how the Jōgesen school adapts the kata for such situations..."

And rather than continuing on, I put the scroll aside, and worked out the kata on my own. Having worked out my own version, I then checked back with the scroll... And it matches! (Well, mostly. Except for a couple of minor wrist-positioning differences.) I am starting to truly understand this school and its techniques.