I have something of a fascination for Japanese culture, which seems to my admittedly uneducated eye to be equal parts beautiful, mysterious, and childish. Japanese TV is the greatest, a often baffling exercise in… well, silliness. Consider the following, which seems to be something like the old Candid Camera show here in the US. We’ve got a Spanish speed-walking champion out on the track doing his thing, and a group of phony samurai poised to see if they can get him to break his stride:
I love the dramatic Godzilla/anime-style music as the samurai chase this dude around the track, and the way the speed-walker actually thanks the TV show when he finds out what’s going on, as if he’s thrilled to have had a practical joke played on him. (He says, “Arigato,” which, thanks to the immortal song-writing capabilities of Dennis De Young, we know means “thank you.”) And who would’ve guessed that the Japanese for “stand by” is… “stand by”? Fascinating…
“Because I run a little faster than I walk.”
Spoken like a true speed-walker.
Classic.
Ah, but the real trivia question still remains…does a speed walker sh*t his shorts when chased by a group of life threatening samurai? I would gamble yes.
Cord, wouldn’t you be making a mess in your pants if you watched a bunch of guys with four-foot-long swords appear to cut somebody down and then come for you? 🙂
I guess that would be like Cowboys breaking into a track meet and running after an athlete?
My samaurai lore is very poor – I can’t imagine there are still groups of angry samaurai still galavanting around Japan?
My next question – when do they decide it’s run/walking instead of walk/running? What exact speed constitutes more run than walk?
My understanding is that while samurai no longer exist as a distinct social class, there are some families that continue their ancestral samurai traditions — living by the code of bushido, learning swordsmanship, etc. However, I’d imagine the odds of a band of traditionally dressed samurai coming after you with their swords out are pretty slim. Unless you’re in a Ridley Scott movie, of course…
As for the walking vs. running question, I didn’t see a lot of difference in the guy’s speed, so I guess it’s determined by gait?