Monday morning, I felt kind of weak, so I waited until the evening because by that time I had at least eaten a little bit. I decided to go to the beginner's class, erroneously thinking that this would be easier. After half an hour I was ready to give up. But then I remembered what a Sensei once said 'when you are tired, then you start to do real Aikido', so I continued. However, on that day I could not confirm that statement. And the last 5 minutes were one of the longest I ever experienced.
On Tuesday I went to the regular 3 o'clock class and I was still very tired. Maybe I should have eaten breakfast instead of lunch at noon. I had the feeling that part of the little energy I had was still used for digestion.
From Wednesday on, I really enjoyed the practice. It seemed the "batteries were recharged", and having learned form the day before, I had a late breakfast instead of lunch.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I went to the 3 o'clock class. I did not get the impression that those classes were more crowded than usual, but since I go mostly to the late morning class on weekdays, I can't say for sure. The same is true for the Saturday early evening class.
On Sunday it was obvious that something special was going on. Even on regular Sundays this class is quite crowded, but on that day, I think it was less than half a tatami per person, like on the Sunday after Embukai.
On Monday I went to the early evening beginner's class again, no problems this time and on Tuesday and Wednesday, like the week before, I practiced in the afternoon. With that the midwinter training ended.
Usually, I, and judging from the reduced number of people on the following Thursday and Friday morning others too, feel some kind of accomplishment after having finished the midwinter training. They think that a little break is in order and take a day or two off.
But this time I just continued. Maybe because I felt like I had cheated. My idea of a "real" midwinter training is to get out of bed when it is still dark and very cold and go shivering to the morning classes. Choosing the warmest time of the day somehow defeated the purpose of midwinter training.
On the other hand, the way midwinter training is done at Hombu Dojo allows more people to do it. Being able to choose any class during the day offers people with irregular working schedules the chance to accomplish the challenge of practicing ten consecutive days.
Although many people practice every day anyway, during midwinter training there is the extra incentive to go to the dojo even if one feels a little bit sore or tired:
Your name will be on the wall and you get another towel!!!
Well done and congratulations to everybody.
Elke Sehlbach-Zorn, Hombu Dojo