Kangeiko
By: Pam Grosch
My husband was following my description of the event without much reaction until I mentioned one little detail. “You’re going to do this without coffee?” he asked in horror. “What happens at the end: do they make you clean the dojo floor with your tears??”
And so began the pendulum of indecision that lasted for the weeks leading up to Kangeiko. I found myself swinging from thoughts of the rich training experience that it offered to the multiple, creative ways that I could embarrass myself if I attended. After all, I was the oldest female karate-ka who planned to attend Charlottesville Yoseikan’s second annual Winter Training; but, with only a year’s experience, I was certainly an infant in “karate years”. It had only been two weeks since I tested for the rank of Roku-kyu; how could I possibly expect to keep up with the brown and black belts who would make up most of the participants?
It seemed highly appropriate that the theme of this year’s Kangeiko was “Ketsui O Suru” – “Make Up Your Mind”. Despite my anxieties, I knew from the moment I first asked my sensei about the guidelines for attendance that I had already committed to going. I had made up my mind: even if it turned out to be a mistake, it was a mistake I would have to live with.
The evening of Kangeiko started out with the comfort of the familiar. I had a spaghetti dinner in the dojo with a group of people who I consider to be not just teachers and fellow students, but also friends. I was delighted when my mentor, now a shodan, presented me with his own green belt to use for my training. I enjoyed singing and eating cake to celebrate the birthdays of both Sensei Gage and Sensei Monge. What did I have to worry about?
Well, there was the point in the evening when Sensei mentioned that we would be finishing our Winter Training with an outdoor run – but, in consideration of the cold morning temperatures and the certainty that our gis would be soaked with sweat, we would be allowed to change into street clothes before venturing out. Running….in the cold…soaked with sweat….maybe this was a mistake after all!
After a nearly sleepless night, on a dojo floor which was much harder than I anticipated, I rose at 2:30 a.m. with 20 other karate students and teachers. The training was rigorous, but I found that I was mostly able to keep up, and my fears began to evaporate. While I did find myself fading a bit while trying to learn an extremely complicated kata (not easy for me in the best condition, never mind after just a couple hours of sleep and not a single drop of you-know-what), the patience of my mentor and the instructors kept me going until I got my second wind. Truthfully, the run wasn’t even as bad as I expected. I ended the training tired but satisfied, glad that I had made up my mind and stuck with it.
In looking back at Kangeiko and the weeks leading up to it, I realize that all my indecision was really just a waste of energy. That may be the most important lesson of all. Although I also learned that, for next time, I need to bring a pad to place under my sleeping bag. And yes, there will definitely be a next time: I’ve already made up my mind about that.
