as I dress up for a samurai sword fight.

First, I put on my Tabi, they're like socks,

but they're also like shoes, amazing.

Next, it's time to wear as many layers as I possibly can.

Using towels as extra padding will help eliminate

any natural curves that your genetics gave you, incredible.

I'm gonna finish this look off by tying a thousand knots,

and then throwing on some pants, called Hakama.

(applause) That's it everybody, the look is complete.

I hope this helps you when you decide

what to wear for your samurai sword fight.

Hey guys, how's it going today?

I'm in Tokyo, I'm all dressed up, I'm getting ready to do,

a Japanese Tate sword lesson with Wow Japan Experience Plus.

This is a company that organizes tours and experiences

for foreigners visiting Japan, it's really, really cool.

Everyone else is dressed up,

they're putting 150% into today's experience,

and I'm really excited to learn how to sword fight

and practice sword fighting with

a bunch of trained professionals.

Today I have two special people

helping me with this experience.

- Hi, my name is Madoka, I'm gonna be interpreter today.

- My name is Wakisaka.

(speaks in Japanese)

- [Micaela] Tate is a martial art,

based on theatrical sword fighting.

With emphasis on respect for your partner

and respect for the sword.

It has been adapted from ancient Japan

and samurai sword fighting techniques.

And those who practice this performance art,

say it helps build patience, respect and character.

(record needle scratches)

Okay, first of all, they make it look

a lot easier than it actually is.

I'm so bad at sports, I'm so bad at eye-hand coordination,

but it does look cool and because they look so cool,

I feel like I wanna try harder,

to get the movements down right.

So I can look really cool, I wanna look as cool as they do.

(dramatic oriental music)

(laughter)

(swords clashing)

The more we do this, the more it feels

like an adrenaline rush, 'cause they're coming at you,

and you feel like they're actually gonna hit you,

but they never hit you, they never hit you.

But it feels very scary and I'm terrified right now,

I am so scared.

I don't know what to do, okay, this is scary.

But they're very good at what they do and it's fun.

I feel like I'm slowly getting the hang of it.

It's starting to get real, very, very real.

But not too real, these are made of wood.

Each fighting scene is a collaboration

between everyone involved,

carefully choreographing intense sequences,

of movements, blocks and evasions.

As a first timer, it can feel a little overwhelming,

but the teacher makes sure

to explain each sequence very carefully.

(speaks in Japanese)

So now I've been doing this for about two hours,

and I'm still really bad at it,

and I feel like every time that I understand

what I'm supposed to do they throw in more people.

And now the whole group is coming at me,

and they're fighting me.

Just as soon as I thought I'd got one movement down,

they add another movement and it's so hard, it's so hard,

but it's a lot of fun, I feel like, when you get it,

once you figure out what you're supposed to do,

it's really cool and it looks great,

and you can impress all your friends.

But, oh my goodness, it's a lot of practice,

and I just have no confidence and I've never had,

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight,

eight people running at me with swords before.

You know, you practice you get used to it,

and then when you get used to it,

they change it up again, anyway.

(dramatic oriental music)

(swords clashing)

(laughter)

I think I did it.

(applause)

(class speaks in Japanese)

(applause)

(interpreter speaks in Japanese)

(sounds of battle)

- All right, so I had a great time learning,

how to do the Tate sword fight experience today.

If you think that this might be something

that you might be interested in,

check the link in the description box below.

There is a coupon code as well.

On the Wow Japan Experience Plus page,

you can actually find lots of other,

really cool ways to experience Japan during your trip,

so if this is something you might be interested in,

I think you should check it out,

and I think I'm in a lot of trouble right now.

Maybe I gotta go, so I will talk to you again, soon, bye.

Hey guys, thanks so much for watching this video.

Learning sword fighting was a huge challenge for me,

and I had a lot of fun, but I think you could

probably do better, you should definitely give it a try.

If you like this video, please remember to click Like,

or leave a comment, or subscribe if you haven't yet,

because it really helps support the channel

and push this video further.

Thanks a lot guys and I'll see you again soon, bye.