05 Oct Testing The Spirit
We boarded the plane, headed to Japan to visit my wife’s family and to train. I was very nervous. It had been almost two years since my double total hip replacement surgery at Mayo Clinic. The chief surgeon had told me to “show me your karate spirit and attack the physical therapy like you are on the dojo floor” upon release. I did what he said (when possible I always follow Sensei’s advice) .
After a reasonable length of time, I returned to my home dojo in Central Illinois where Sensei Rick Brewer and Sensei James Hartman have been teaching and supporting hundreds of hungry young and old karateka for many years. It was not easy. I had done strengthening exercises at home and was in good shape. But I was afraid of fast moves, backwards moves and sweeps. I kept Sensei Carl Hartter’s advice in mind – “don’t line up across from any new black belts or energetic brown belts”.
It is my home dojo and everyone was very understanding and patient, quite possibly on strict orders from Sensei’s Brewer and Hartman. But traveling to another dojo and especially a dojo in Japan, is different. I did not know anyone at the JKA Honbu dojo and just one person at the Hoitsugan, both dojos well known for tough training, especially kumite.
Having first visited Japan in 1985, I trained at the JKA Honbu dojo in Ebisu and was invited to train and stay at the Hoitsugan dojo for a short time. I fell in love with Japan and eventually quit my job and relocated to that wonderful country, staying almost twelve years. But that was thirty years ago, I was younger and did not have any physical issues.
I have visited Japan almost yearly with my wife and we always stayed at her parent’s house, usually training at one or more of the dojos in that area, including Uno Sensei’s dojo in Kobe when I was doing some work for Caterpillar. All the dojos offered hard, focused, sweat inducing training, usually including a few bumps
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