What a great day for a swim. This was the view outside when a sleepy me woke up this morning. A special day because it would be my first beach practice with the shitoryu seikokai karate club.
But snow?? It seemed like such freak weather. I knew it was going to be cold and ugly outside, but there was no forecast for snow! Luckily, it was only really snowing in neighborhoods at higher altitudes and when we arrived at English Bay (near downtown Vancouver), none of the white stuff was in sight. It was still a bit cold, and wet, but my excitement kept me going. That and raking the beach:
Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of the actual practice. My camera was safely tucked away while I got sandy. But some people will put photos somewhere and there will also be a blurb on CBC Vancouver news tonight between 23:00 and 23:15 (in case you happen to be in Vancouver and read this in the next three and a half hours).
We had an hour of practice starting with a short run up and down the beach, stretching, basic techniques, a brief bit of basic kumite and then kata practice. Then we ran down the beach a second time, this time further and onto the road. But I ran on the grass. The cement was like daggers in my icy bare feet. Did I cheat? The mud was so soothing…
The final highlight was after coming back from the run, lining up on the shore, doing charging punches into knee deep water, coming back out again, and then running in fully. I love being in water and despite the temperature, was itching for it so I went quickly. With all the adrenaline from running it didn’t feel that cold but of course, it was, and my heart started thumping overtime to tell me so. I was actually really scared for that first 10 seconds. Could I have a heart attack? I had forgotten about that whole shock reaction thing. Possibly on purpose so that this morning wouldn’t be something that I dreaded. But my body settled down quickly enough. We came out of the water and headed to public washrooms to change into warm clothes. They had given us much advice on what to bring beforehand so the whole wet, freezing, and sandy thing was manageable.
After changing, everyone headed over to Tanpopo on Denman for all-you-can-eat. I’m not normally a fan of the all-you-can-eat but this time…it was so satisfying.
Before today, our sensei told us that we do beach practice in January because it is a challenge that, if taken on and overcome, makes all the challenges of the coming year seem easy. You can greet them with enthusiasm.
The thing that has stuck with me since the practice: life has big limitations but you should take on challenges anyway. Even if the limitations (frozen fingers and feet) decrease your performance (kata means form?), you will still be successful.
I came home, napped, had a hot shower, and am still feeling a little rough but…well it’s time to get back to that thesis work and I don’t feel like my physical discomfort will stop me.
