Leonardo’s Katana Blades
When the blade needs to cut
I would stay up late during the COVID-19 lockdown for two reasons:
1. To watch a repeat of the NBA games
2. To watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Four brothers of elite-level martial arts as trained by Master Splinter. Depending on the origins story you have read, the turtles are bred by Splinter to avenge the death of his mentor. Shredder has ambitious goals and would stop at nothing to achieve them. Even if it means massive collateral damage — the death of many, which included Master Splinter’s mentor.
Sherry Ning convinced me that death, like love, makes us lose our grip on reality and descend into the abyss, unarmed. Since it can be a powerful motivator for revenge, one needs to know the value of the life being taken. Enter the role of the leader of the four, Leonardo.
Unlike the other three, Leo has the deadliest weapon — katanas. Raphael wields sais, which although sharp, are meant to protect, defend, and deflect rather than stab. For as long as I have seen Raphael fight, I have never seen his sais blood stained. Michelangelo has nunchakos. Donatello has a bo stick. These three are widely different from the katana, a weapon wielded for war and death.
Knock Knock
The modern equivalent of a knock is a phone call.
In the past, you couldn’t access your friend or neighbour if you didn’t visit them at their home and make the courtesy signal of knocking on their door. A contact list with all the matching phone numbers has shortened the geographical distance much to our convenience.
When you receive that phone call on Friday evening, you know your friends are looking to have a good time. A night out, a Karaoke session, a quiz night — anything that involves music, possibly some degree of inebriation, and the creation of memories.
However, if you have never had a night out with friends which you felt would have been better spent by staying indoors, then you have not had a wild night. Everybody should be allowed at least one wild night before they tap out. That is before they commit not to having a repeat of the same wild experience or before they die. One wild night with friends. To live a little.
Then comes the moment when one has to make crucial decisions. One of your friends is about to pick a fight they are definitely going to lose. What do you do? One of your friends has been held outside by the bouncer. Their face betrays their age — they might look young but the national ID tells a different story. You have spotted your friend who barely recognizes you but is surrounded by people whose antiques are questionable. You have to drop them at their place or wonder why you haven’t seen them in a while — likely because their phone was stolen along with whatever pocket change they had to take them home.
Worse, one of them has knocked a car or has gotten knocked by one. Police are on the horizon hoping to make a quick buck from the ‘drunk and disorderly’ group of people. You have to show up at work the following day but you get held up in the debacle.
All these could happen once, which is okay. This is the substance of great stories, as anyone who has read Shantaram will tell you. But if it’s regular, then one needs to follow the fast-tracked advice at the end of beer commercials:
Drink responsibly.
One needs to act responsibly. Enter Leonardo’s katana blades.
Shell-shocked
The first time these events happen could be enough to shock you. But when you get used to it, tolerance for the wild nights increases.
That, too, might be good. Up until you notice its effects on your friends, yourself, and your family.
Katanas are samurai swords. Samurais live by the honour code. Honour above everything else. It shapes their bravery. Add to that the sharp commitment of the lethal edge of the Katana sword reminds the warrior — of the need for mastery and precision.
Surgery demands clean cuts, especially in spaces surrounded by crucial organs. An extra distance at the lower uterine segment could have the surgeon flooded with blood from the uterine artery. Precision is as important as the object used to achieve the cut. Training is necessary to avoid these outcomes. A samurai must train. Must.
A Katana grants samurais this honor and burden. Burden because they have to make important decisions which will come with grave consequences. Graves. With people inside them. Dead people.
Shamelessly swinging a Katana could be harmful to the wielder too. It can permanently deform. It’s sometimes fatal. This is the weapon given to the leader of the four ninja turtles because he is the most level-headed, ethical, and practical of the four. He also has to remind the other three of the same when they become too rooted in their personas.
According to this wild theory, the Katanas are also meant to remind Leo that he has to make difficult decisions. Despite his ethical code, and the samurai’s honour, he will have to make the tough call of ending other people’s lives to protect those he holds dear.
As for friends whose life force is peppered by wild adventures, there will be moments when you contemplate severing ties. Moments when you have to swing your Katana. It will be painful for all parties involved. It is important to know when it is necessary.
A Katana is a reminder that you have to know when to swing and most importantly, when not to. Raphael is Leo’s brother. Since Raph prizes his brute strength., he occasionally believes he should be the leader It challenges Leo who is just as tactful, but he has never used it on Raphael, as far as I know.
In life, there could come moments when your family or friends push your buttons. Moments when it matters are when they are vulnerable. When they are not lucid. When they didn’t drink responsibly. When they had one too many wild nights. Reminding yourself that you hold the Katana is an exercise in knowing how best your actions can have long-lasting effects.
It could be through your actions but as not every one of us is as gifted as the ninja turtles, it comes through noble actions and choice of words. Knowing when to walk away and when to stay. Knowing when to speak up and when to remain silent. Knowing which words to speak and which ones to avoid.
Shell Shock was the term used by soldiers who went to World War I before the official name was coined — post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). When the Katana swings, you can be shell-shocked. This is the burden Leo constantly has on his shoulders. It’s the burden we all have that we notice too late when we have swung the blade. At such times, brute strength can’t save you.
What I’m trying to say is…
The sooner we recognize we need to increase our degree of responsibility, the earlier we know how powerful our actions and words are.
A clean cut can never be reconfigured. Katanas are known for clean cuts but only if wielded with grace. As the students reveal, a powerful sword without a master swordsman is a powerless word. The result is not clean cuts, but butchery. All the more reason to know when to strike and when to hold back. It requires skill, training, and exposure to failure.
The time will come when you will have to swing that Katana.
You must know when.
And when not to.
This song inspired some of the lines used in this article. Source — YouTube