Morning:
Very crook. Was up all night. Still went to training, did the warm up and nearly fell over, so I watched and did mitori geiko. Most kids were sent home to lie down, but I was stubborn and sat on the floor watching. I noticed that the swimming pool next to the dojo was frozen over.
Afternoon:
Called off due to some big meeting. Yay for sleep!
Day 12 –
Morning:
Feeling better, but still not 100%. Exhausted after 5 seconds of kakarigeiko, but have to keep going. My mind is writing cheques that my body can’t cash at the moment. I still have a wee diesel engine running in my guts, making some weird noises and all the other things diesel engines are renowned for! Gross.
Afternoon:
Not working well. Still feeling very run down. So close, just gotta keep going…
Day 13 –
Morning:
Still going. Will this ever end?!
Afternoon:
Couldn’t make training today as I had a scholarship interview in the city…just as scary as the training I missed out on!
Day 14 –
Morning:
Even though there is only 2 days to go I still don’t feel like there is an end in sight. This thing plays serious tricks on your mind.
I have begun to notice one aspect of kakarigeiko that, being on the receiving end, can be very draining… it is not hooking the shinai around your neck, or hitting you in the back off the head (although these things are particularly draining), its when the motodachi gives you a little push to the side of your shoulder as you run through. Not only does it put you slightly off balance as you struggle to stay stable on your jelly legs (don’t get caught on the floor! It is the same as being caught against the wall!), but it indicates the start of some horrible kakarigeiko ass wooping…but just how long and how horrible you don’t know!
Afternoon:
Off due to prep for the party tonight. Nearly there!
Evening:
Debauchery.
As this hell on earth comes to an end, it marks an important mile stone for many of the students. For the 4th years, it is their graduation – all they have known, their dearest friends, and all the memories from the last 4 years of “all you can kendo” is coming to an end. They are no longer students here anymore, and have realized that there stint as big fish in a small pond is all but over. And for the 1st years, it is the end of the initiation process. They are becoming bigger fishy’s, meaning that the constant late nights of cleaning and cooking for their sempai is no longer their responsibility.
Drinking, crying and the stench of vomit.
Final Day 15 –
Morning:
its all over! My body is really starting to hurt now that my mind will let it. I could sleep for another 15 days. But alas, I have a pile of paper work to get through! Hello real world, I’m back!
Reading back over this diary is scary. I am glad that I kept a log on a daily basis as the only thing I really remember about any particular day is that 2 hours of hard yakka training from 5am is a long time! Every training runs into the other, and I would be struggling to tell you what I did in between trainings on any given day.
The effects of this training camp are felt by every participant and are similar to the things I have documented above – that of fear, de-motivation, illness and pain coupled with good days, good fights, and now that its all over, some good memories.
The point of all this? At the coldest time of year and then again in the summer season, training camps of the hardest kind are held for one important reason; to develop the right attitude for the “easy seasons” of spring and autumn. When trainings begin again in March and the weather warms, the environment for training can easily be considered pleasant in comparison. This, we are told, is a crucial turning point in our kendo training – as participating in kangeiko is a way to build confidence in one’s ability and staying power that will see us through the “easy” trainings in the warmer months.
And this is the best time of all…the longest time before more kangeiko!
I saw some pretty horrendous things out on that cold polyurethane floor over the past fortnight, but also some pretty amazing responses. This is certainly the school of hard knocks, where limits are pushed, smacked, tripped, kicked, punched and tsuki’d but spirits are seldom broken. Good effort Taidai!
Right then, back to bed.
zzzzz…
KB
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