Let's just begin by saying, yes, there is air conditioning in the building that houses our dojo. Let me follow that up by saying, no, it's not strong enough to keep us all from sweating. Profusely. Last night was one perfect example of how one person's sweat can double, or even triple, the weight of a gi jacket.
Not only was I sweating, but I was also a bit nauseated. First, I ate a pre-marinated, lemon-pepper flavored pork loin, and I don't think it agreed with me. At all. I ate it on Monday, and my body was still doing things that would have embarrassed me to no end on Tuesday evening. At 6:30 I was still having doubts about going. So I forced myself to go, and I told myself I was going to enjoy it.
Between the heat and the awful rumbling in my gut, I was working hard just to get through the entire workout. Add on to that the intensity of last night's class, and I was nearly ready to call it quits.
Now I feel that I'm in pretty good shape. I can get through a pretty intense practice, and, while breathing hard during some of it, I usually don't have to tell my practice partner to slow down or give me a moment to catch my breath. Last night I felt like an old man.
We had a new person try out a free class last night to see if he wanted to join. He lives south of the border, but, as he related in a recent conversation he had, it makes a whole lot more sense to drive north to our dojo, than drive 50 miles south to the "big city" to attend the Midwest Aikido Center. And oh, by the way, there is no parking at the MAC, so drive around a bunch and see if you get lucky.
So the guy looked to be older than me (51); maybe close to 60. He looked like a middle distance runner: very lean, little body fat to speak of, but with a solid amount of muscle. In other words, he's everything I am not. He's also an ikkyu, but wore his white belt. He and I practiced an entering move from a shomen-uchi that led into a kote-gaeshi. He was very good with terrific endurance. I moved well last night - quick and light - but my endurance suffered due to my stomach trouble. It was nice working with him because we could both practice quickly and with solid ki. He put the hurt on me more than I few times, and I think I did the same for him. In other words, I think we were doing exactly what we were supposed to be doing.
After we switched partners, though, I saw him working with a couple of the "younger" guys - both fourth kyu students. They were working with this same guy and everybody was doing break falls and there was a lot of mat slamming going on. Geez, I can't keep up with that on my best day. I suppose if I'd been doing this without my 30-year hiatus, I could do that, too. But since I've only picked this up again less than two years ago, and since I have been "blessed" with arthritis and a few other "issues" that make intense practice really painful, I have to pull back a bit. Maybe I am only practicing at 75%. Maybe 75% is wishful thinking and I'm working at a far lower level. Maybe I'm working at a higher level. I am not a good judge of myself. I don't know, but when I practice, I give it whatever it is that I have on that day. That's all I can do.
But after yesterday's class, and unlike the typical feeling that I need a day's recovery between classes, I would love to go back to the dojo again today. Too bad there isn't a class to attend. I am already looking forward to tomorrow's class.
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