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Martial Arts in Each Season: Nature in Training  by: Paul Smith We of the Upper Peninsula, Michigan, the people who inhabit the wild lands north of The Bridge, are at the crest of winter. Which isn't saying much, because no matter what time of year, up here, winter has a way of creeping gleefully nearby, like an antic, poised to drop in on even the most summery of days - like an August wedding (mine), and remind all who live here that we live, first and last, at nature's pleasure, and not she at ours. I love nature and the outdoors. Here, you would be hard pressed not to, since nature is ever present and wild, and cannot be constrained. We live here among the big forests, the blue-black waters of Mother Superior. At my Center, we are about to dive into our first kangeiko, which is intensive winter training. The windows will be open, and the cold will surely come. The indoor sanctity of the dojo will be broken by the outdoors, the rude ways of the howling, northern winds. It occurs to me - we spend so much of our time trying to protect ourselves. When it is hot outside, we try to cool down; when it is cold, we try to keep our warmth. In Japanese martial arts tradition, kangeiko and its summer counterpart, shochugeiko, are ways of marking one’s training, and giving over to nature. When the sun is raging, and summer's heat is on - train fully, sweat, give over to the experience and hold nothing back; in the depths of winter's cold, do not tighten and try to stave it off, but accept the cold, relax into it and break through to a new understanding. But in this training, I believe, we find a mirror to life itself. Beautiful, chaotic, demanding - nature. Nature just is. About The Author Paul Smith is the Founder and Director of the Aikido Center of Marquette (www.aikido-marquette.com), located in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan. He is an avid outdoorsman, and is also the webmaster of www.a1-outdoors.com, a website serving as a resource for outdoor sports gear and information. This article was posted on December 11, 2005 Read More Articles from the "Recreation and Sports" Category: How Focus Can Improve Your Golf Game by Hana Lee Smart Rookie Poker Player by Roxel Pudol Bird Watching for Beginners by Patrick Carpen Snowboarding At Night by Jakob Jelling A Look At The Major Tournaments In Golf by Jena Luthovski Whitetail Deer Management by John Cook Cue Power: What is It and What Can It Do for You? by Bob Meucci Flatwater Kayaks by Jakob Jelling Online Roulette by Chen Ching-feng Online Sports Stock Market by RD Warren << Back to "Recreation And Sports" Index

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