This summer has been really hot. Really, really hot. If you put your arm outside the car door while driving, you can hear the sun cooking your skin. Not only feel it, but hear it sizzling. That’s how hot it’s been this summer.
There are a couple special points about the Honbu Dojo. One of them is that we are the only dojo in Birmingham that doesn’t use air conditioning. By the start of evening classes at 6:00, the summer sun is still attacking the air through the large front windows. The radiating heat feels like it’s coming from a bomb. Each class begins with the command, “Seiza! Mokuso!” Everyone sits on their knees, and closes their eyes, the sweat already beading up and trickling down the forehead, neck and chest. By the time students open their eyes and bow at the command, “Mokuso yame! Saiko Shihan ni rei!”, each one already has a small puddle surrounding them. By the time we finish warming up and stretching, students’ dogis are soaked as if they’ve just finished. But class has only begun.
If a student doesn’t have a strong kiai (spirit), their body screams at them, “You’re crazy! What’s the matter with you!? It’s over 100 degrees outside, and in here it’s like a 125-degree steam bath! Why’re you training here?” Students especially hear this inner voice if they’re out of shape.
So I just tell the class, “Today’s nice and cool, don’t you think?” They look at me like I’ve lost my mind. But I haven’t. The point is, if you tell yourself it’s not hot, then it’s not hot. If you make up your mind and put your spirit in your training, you can take the heat.
I have a confession, though. Years ago, when I first started teaching and training at the Honbu Dojo building, I often thought about how to install air conditioning. After all, this is the Deep South; incredibly hot and humid. But I came to the conclusion that in Karate training, one needs discipline, needs to build themselves up both physically and mentally. Students shouldn’t be spoiled; they need to build up their kiai. They need guts! And the bottom line is that air conditioning is very expensive.
For many students, training in the summer heat is exhausting. Especially for beginners. Some of them experience serious problems and have to stop and sit under the fan or get a drink of water. The majority, however, just feel run down and tired. As the body gets run down, so does the spirit. They start thinking, “Ah, man…Why am I here? I should be at home, inside with the A/C, drinking iced tea and watching The Bachelorette or Dancing With The Stars.” Their eyes reflect these inner thoughts. That’s why I shout at them to kiai! If you kiai, you can fight back. You can recharge yourself both physically and mentally.
Of course, kiai doesn’t solve everything. If someone really is sick, simply putting their spirit into their training isn’t going to help them. It’s sometimes a delicate point. I’m not a doctor, but I have more than 50 years of teaching experience, so I trust my sixth sense in determining whether or not someone is truly sick or just being lazy and needs to be pushed. The point is if you can overcome and survive summer training, when fall comes, you’ll feel like Superman, or Superwoman, or Iron Man. So just sweat—it’s good for you! If you do that, when you step outside after training, even if it’s still 110 degrees out, you’ll feel like it’s only 55. That’s called Natural Chi Air Conditioning—specialty of World Oyama Headquarters Dojo.
Traditionally, Karate dojos don’t use air conditioning. (When I used to teach at the Kyokushin Headquarters Dojo, we could wring out our dogis after class and fill a bucket with the amount of sweat that came out). In the summer, we keep the front and back doors open during the day, which creates a natural cross-breeze. But sometimes the air doesn’t flow. The first thing prospective students notice when they enter the dojo is the lack of cool air. They ask Senpai Karl, “Don’t you guys have air conditioning?”
“Sure,” Senpai Karl answers. “We have 3 big ones.”
“Really?” they ask, looking around them.
Senpai Karl points to the two small overhead ceiling fans and the large fan at the edge of the training mat. “Those are our air conditioners.”
“Oh, that’s different,” they answer.
“Well, I guess it depends on your definition. The fans condition the air. Air conditioning. It’s all in how you look at it,” Senpai Karl says with a smile. Some people end up signing up, but others just smile and walk away.
In the dojo we sweat. That’s our style. But sometimes students need a break during training. So we stretch. By the end of class, everyone’s dogi is soaked, including mine. That’s a wonderful feeling—to feel like you’ve survived, you’ve made it. When class is finished, we all look like someone’s dumped a bucket of water on our heads. Women wearing makeup have it streaming down their faces. So, most female students don’t wear it—but they’re still beautiful. The men, well they’re not beautiful, but still alright. When you finish hard summer training and finally take a cold drink from the water fountain, that’s a million-dollar-feeling. Who needs air conditioning! If you push yourself in the summer, you’ll build up your condition and spirit. You’ll never forget your memories of survival at the World Oyama Karate Headquarters Dojo!
There are a couple special points about the Honbu Dojo. One of them is that we are the only dojo in Birmingham that doesn’t use air conditioning. By the start of evening classes at 6:00, the summer sun is still attacking the air through the large front windows. The radiating heat feels like it’s coming from a bomb. Each class begins with the command, “Seiza! Mokuso!” Everyone sits on their knees, and closes their eyes, the sweat already beading up and trickling down the forehead, neck and chest. By the time students open their eyes and bow at the command, “Mokuso yame! Saiko Shihan ni rei!”, each one already has a small puddle surrounding them. By the time we finish warming up and stretching, students’ dogis are soaked as if they’ve just finished. But class has only begun.
If a student doesn’t have a strong kiai (spirit), their body screams at them, “You’re crazy! What’s the matter with you!? It’s over 100 degrees outside, and in here it’s like a 125-degree steam bath! Why’re you training here?” Students especially hear this inner voice if they’re out of shape.
So I just tell the class, “Today’s nice and cool, don’t you think?” They look at me like I’ve lost my mind. But I haven’t. The point is, if you tell yourself it’s not hot, then it’s not hot. If you make up your mind and put your spirit in your training, you can take the heat.
I have a confession, though. Years ago, when I first started teaching and training at the Honbu Dojo building, I often thought about how to install air conditioning. After all, this is the Deep South; incredibly hot and humid. But I came to the conclusion that in Karate training, one needs discipline, needs to build themselves up both physically and mentally. Students shouldn’t be spoiled; they need to build up their kiai. They need guts! And the bottom line is that air conditioning is very expensive.
For many students, training in the summer heat is exhausting. Especially for beginners. Some of them experience serious problems and have to stop and sit under the fan or get a drink of water. The majority, however, just feel run down and tired. As the body gets run down, so does the spirit. They start thinking, “Ah, man…Why am I here? I should be at home, inside with the A/C, drinking iced tea and watching The Bachelorette or Dancing With The Stars.” Their eyes reflect these inner thoughts. That’s why I shout at them to kiai! If you kiai, you can fight back. You can recharge yourself both physically and mentally.
Of course, kiai doesn’t solve everything. If someone really is sick, simply putting their spirit into their training isn’t going to help them. It’s sometimes a delicate point. I’m not a doctor, but I have more than 50 years of teaching experience, so I trust my sixth sense in determining whether or not someone is truly sick or just being lazy and needs to be pushed. The point is if you can overcome and survive summer training, when fall comes, you’ll feel like Superman, or Superwoman, or Iron Man. So just sweat—it’s good for you! If you do that, when you step outside after training, even if it’s still 110 degrees out, you’ll feel like it’s only 55. That’s called Natural Chi Air Conditioning—specialty of World Oyama Headquarters Dojo.
Traditionally, Karate dojos don’t use air conditioning. (When I used to teach at the Kyokushin Headquarters Dojo, we could wring out our dogis after class and fill a bucket with the amount of sweat that came out). In the summer, we keep the front and back doors open during the day, which creates a natural cross-breeze. But sometimes the air doesn’t flow. The first thing prospective students notice when they enter the dojo is the lack of cool air. They ask Senpai Karl, “Don’t you guys have air conditioning?”
“Sure,” Senpai Karl answers. “We have 3 big ones.”
“Really?” they ask, looking around them.
Senpai Karl points to the two small overhead ceiling fans and the large fan at the edge of the training mat. “Those are our air conditioners.”
“Oh, that’s different,” they answer.
“Well, I guess it depends on your definition. The fans condition the air. Air conditioning. It’s all in how you look at it,” Senpai Karl says with a smile. Some people end up signing up, but others just smile and walk away.
In the dojo we sweat. That’s our style. But sometimes students need a break during training. So we stretch. By the end of class, everyone’s dogi is soaked, including mine. That’s a wonderful feeling—to feel like you’ve survived, you’ve made it. When class is finished, we all look like someone’s dumped a bucket of water on our heads. Women wearing makeup have it streaming down their faces. So, most female students don’t wear it—but they’re still beautiful. The men, well they’re not beautiful, but still alright. When you finish hard summer training and finally take a cold drink from the water fountain, that’s a million-dollar-feeling. Who needs air conditioning! If you push yourself in the summer, you’ll build up your condition and spirit. You’ll never forget your memories of survival at the World Oyama Karate Headquarters Dojo!