Hey, MMario,
Your story of playing with bamboo swords reminded me of my old days doing Kendo.
The instructor had a sense of humor that edged on the bizarre. When someone opined that the bamboo practice swords (shenai) were not all that impressive, he related the story of a great Kendo master who was doing a world tour of dojos. He made it as far as Germany. While he was practice fighting one of the students, the novice made a downward head strike as he lunged forward...excellent form. Unfortunately a freak accident occurred. As he lunged forward and the bamboo tips of the shenai hit the master's face mask. The tips of the shenai shattered. ( this never happens.) The forward motion of the student resulted in the master being stabbed between the face mask grill and impalled through the eyes. Our instructor joked about the call to Japan. "We broke the Kendo master you sent out. Could you please send a replacement?"
Good times.