Winter wonderland

You may have heard of this. It is a badge of honour that I wear proudly. To have taken part in and survived a seminar so horrifying that even Tom Tam himself recalls it as a terrible experience, is something that I will never forget.

That fateful weekend, that shall ever be remembered in the annals of aikidoka legend as winter wonderland. It was here that I became known as the lone 5th kyu. A name that has since been lost to history.

Also Sensei tried to steal my wooly hat.

Now obviously most of these stories that I write about were not nearly as cool at the time as I make them out to be. They're just really cool in my head and then I exaggerate slightly further as to make for enjoyable reading.

But back to over-exaggeration.

It was a weekend seminar, prior to the christmas seminar. For those training for 5th Kyu and above. And the heating was broken.

Let me say that again. THE HEATING WAS BROKEN. You know how cold the dojo is, and that's when the heating is working. Oh and this was the coldest weekend of the year. It snowed!

You weren't there. You don't understand what it was like. I can categorically say that it was the coldest I have ever been in my life. It was so cold that we all slept in the lobby area. We stuffed about 15 bodies onto the floor of the lobby area while we slept because it was too cold to be spread out in the main dojo. I was fully clothed, in my sleeping back, surrounded by other people and their body warmth, and I was still shivering because I was so cold. I was so cold that I couldn't sleep. I think every one else had more or less the same experience those two nights we were there. And to get up in the morning after that, knowing that you'll spend the next hour sitting still for zazen....I've never experienced anything like it and never want to again.

Next time you're in the dojo, feeling like life is unfair. Just remember winter wonderland.