interpreting Ichiro

Larry LaRue and Geoff Baker both report Ichiro's latest koan (via Baker):

"My knee is still my knee," he said. "My knee is not my butt."

Hmmm. Interesting.

I'd ask for a translation, but we were already getting one from interpreter Ken Barron at that point. Barron took another run at the interpretation, asking Ichiro to clarify.

"I hit it against the wall, but it's not big like my butt," he said.

Pretty easy to figure out: your knee has no padding; your rump does. Smash into the wall while snagging a liner to deep center, and you'll appreciate that fact in a tangible and memorable way.

Don't question. Just revere.