Written by Training in the alpine air!
A few weeks ago, Dirk-san and I took a trip to my family cabin up at Huntington Lake. We departed from Sacramento after Thursday night sparring class, and arrived at the cabin after midnight Friday AM. After unloading and settling in a bit, we proceeded to get a restful nights sleep.
There is something very special in watching the sun rise in the east (directly from the cabin deck) and the serene feeling that takes hold being amongst the trees, seeing the lake and mountains in the distance. Maybe some Zen in the mix!
Rest, reading, relaxation and eating was an imperative, but so too was our focus on kata training (sai, bo, empty-handed) on the deck. There was a lot of focus on chatan yara sai, with each of us demonstrating for the other and comparing notes on specifics. For me, on that deck and being focused with my training partner really helped me lock in on completing chatan yara sai.
It is a bit funny as we really didn’t go more than 75′ from the cabin until Saturday afternoon, when we proceeded to take a short hike (maybe a few miles round trip) to check out the lake and scenery.
There really is something profound in training out amongst nature; a sense of a spiritual connection & energy that seems to enhance the whole experience of in those moments being one with karate.
Good times, David san.