The annual tradition of practicing kata Sanchin in the snow took place on Thursday, December 19th, 2013 - the last class before the Christmas break. The temperature was close to -8 degrees! It was certainly an experience that caused reflection and a great deal of focus beyond the discomforts one felt. The following is an excerpt from Dave Lowry's book entitled In the Dojo, in which he outlines the experience of "Kanchu tanren" or cold weather training: "Societies have always had ways of testing oneself against the elements of nature, some formal, some more spontaneous... Indeed, it makes sense that much of the extreme nature of so many hobbies today [...] are a response to our modern world lacking formal rituals that serve to test us. In this context, kan-geiko is a way of doing just that. Through the regimen of a special period of training in the cold, the budoka has a clear goal. Can he make it up and into the dojo on a series of raw mornings, with its windows open to the bitter air, training barefoot on mats or a floor that is near freezing? Encouraged in part by the collective spirit and will of the group, and also by his own wish to see where his limits are, he gives it a try and finds, in most cases, he is capable of doing more than he thought. He learns that being cold and uncomfortable do not limit him. It's possible to take a barefoot run through snow without suffering nearly as much as he thought he might. From the outside, it may seem a little silly and macho. but the implications of kan-geiko are broad. If I can, without ill effect, train for two hours in temperatures I would normally consider too cold for taking the dog out for a walk, what else can I do that I thought would be beyond me? What are the real borders of my capabilities? Are they a little or a lot beyond what I have always believed them to be? These are the sorts of questions that get answered -- or are at least asked during cold-weather practice. ..[the other element that is addressed] is a concept of self-purification, or misogi.[...] These practices, usually accompanied by other training, is a way of facing oneself looking inside to see what is there and to see how it might be best refined."
