The human body

is a perfect circular machine, designed to turn on pivots and capable of extremely harmonious and smooth movements if properly directed. To make ugly, stiff actions or to force our limbs into a straight line by our human conceptions of speed and directness is as though we took up a finely made pair of compasses and proceeded to draw straight lines by constantly altering the radius. A circle viewed from the side is a straight line and a straight line can be followed by a gradual unwinding of the joints and the basic attitude of mind is to let the circles play themselves out and not keep our attention on the straight line as such. In Kendo even the thrust is regarded and understood as merely a different direction of circle, or cut.