A real trip down memory-lane. I used to attend such weekends organised by Rene van Amersfoort.
Maybe the senseis intention was indeed to make you aware of what you were capable of if you just
"stuck with it". Halfway through I sometimes wondered what I was doing there in the first place, but in the end there was this feeling of "Yessss, did it!". And I always learned a lot!
I wonder if students nowadays are still prepared to undergo such training. There is this form of fitness-training they call "Boot-camp" which seems to resemble it, and it seems to be quite popular.
Indeed, the belt grew longer over the years, although I never was this lean fighting-machine others were. The advancing years make themselves noticeable as well. So, would I be able to do it again?
I don't think so, but in my mind I sure would like to give it a try!
Thanks Henk and Mark. I think the age factor is a big thing. If, back in the day, the average age was between 20 and 30 then I guess that kind of 'boot camp' approach has a real appeal. I think as we get older we have a smarter approach to giving our body a workout (no, I don't mean walking from the couch to the fridge). But nowadays there are so many better ways of getting a more productive workout, probably based on better scientific information.
I remember some of these courses. Not with unalloyed affection; as a Kyu grade student it was a badge of honour just to survive. The early morning exercises: particularly the last day when Sugasawa Sensei would lead us into the waves doing Junzuki until the smaller students had actually submerged. And the Mokuso... I seem to remember being told it helped to 'empty your mind'. It certainly drove all thoughts but 'I am going to die of pain' from your mind. Shiomitsu Sensei told us one year of a course he did back home where they made the students do Mokuso for 4 hours. He used some surprisingly forthright Anglo-Saxon to describe what he thought of that.
But for all that, they were great times. I did learn a lot; both specific technical detail and I managed to soak up a lot of what made Karate tick from the senior grades. It stood me in good stead for later years but could I cope with it now? 6am starts for an hour of bunny-hopping down a windswept beach; 6 * 4 hours training (with no breaks); 3 hours (total) of Mokuso; 1,000 punches followed by 1,000 kicks on Day#2. Maybe, maybe not.
A real trip down memory-lane. I used to attend such weekends organised by Rene van Amersfoort.
Maybe the senseis intention was indeed to make you aware of what you were capable of if you just
"stuck with it". Halfway through I sometimes wondered what I was doing there in the first place, but in the end there was this feeling of "Yessss, did it!". And I always learned a lot!
I wonder if students nowadays are still prepared to undergo such training. There is this form of fitness-training they call "Boot-camp" which seems to resemble it, and it seems to be quite popular.
Indeed, the belt grew longer over the years, although I never was this lean fighting-machine others were. The advancing years make themselves noticeable as well. So, would I be able to do it again?
I don't think so, but in my mind I sure would like to give it a try!
Thanks Henk and Mark. I think the age factor is a big thing. If, back in the day, the average age was between 20 and 30 then I guess that kind of 'boot camp' approach has a real appeal. I think as we get older we have a smarter approach to giving our body a workout (no, I don't mean walking from the couch to the fridge). But nowadays there are so many better ways of getting a more productive workout, probably based on better scientific information.
But it was fun wasn't it?
I remember some of these courses. Not with unalloyed affection; as a Kyu grade student it was a badge of honour just to survive. The early morning exercises: particularly the last day when Sugasawa Sensei would lead us into the waves doing Junzuki until the smaller students had actually submerged. And the Mokuso... I seem to remember being told it helped to 'empty your mind'. It certainly drove all thoughts but 'I am going to die of pain' from your mind. Shiomitsu Sensei told us one year of a course he did back home where they made the students do Mokuso for 4 hours. He used some surprisingly forthright Anglo-Saxon to describe what he thought of that.
But for all that, they were great times. I did learn a lot; both specific technical detail and I managed to soak up a lot of what made Karate tick from the senior grades. It stood me in good stead for later years but could I cope with it now? 6am starts for an hour of bunny-hopping down a windswept beach; 6 * 4 hours training (with no breaks); 3 hours (total) of Mokuso; 1,000 punches followed by 1,000 kicks on Day#2. Maybe, maybe not.