Surprise!

This past Saturday the Judo clubs from Dickinson and Bismarck surprised me good!

It is Saturday morning, about 10:15 am… I was getting ready to meet Ken, Mark and perhaps Nick at 11:30 am at Wrinkled Rock (a mile west of Mount Rushmore) for an afternoon of climbing.  It is about a 45 minute drive from here so I was planning to head out about 10:40 or so.  Ken called to say that they were just completing some work and would be a bit late, Carol suggested that we watch some of the NDSU – Iowa State football game until I had to leave for Wrinkled Rock. 

I had set the DVR to record the game so Carol and I could watch it later that evening.  So I went to the beginning of the recording and when the first commercial came on, I did as I always do – fast forward thru the commercial - which also cuts the sound, except this time, there was sound in the background.  “What is that?” I said aloud.  “Radio?”… where was that sound coming from?  “Maybe its the computer?”  But it didn't sound like it was coming from down the hallway.  It sounded like it was coming from outside in the back yard and what ever could that be?????

 

Standing up, much to my surprise, there were people in my yard, setting up a judo mat!!!   Ken, Dakota, Ruth, Nick, Mary, Steve, Jeff, SEAN & CANDICE??? (Whom I haven't seen for years!)  And kids.  WHAT IS GOING ON????

By this time I had made it to the deck, thankfully the deck had a railing as I really needed something to lean on!!!


Nick had made ninja arrangements with Carol to surprise me with an impromptu judo workout in our back yard.  They brought all the food and beverages and mats and people!  Carol had turned off the driveway alarm so I wouldn’t have a clue and suggested watching the football game.

It didn’t take much time to set up mats and get people into judo gi and onto the mat.  We had a nice 2 hour workout in the morning before a nice lunch put on by Mary, Candice, Ruth, and Carol, wives of those working out on the mat.   We took a bit of a rest after lunch to let things settle.  Carol invited the neighbors to see what judo was all about; they arrived as we started the afternoon session. 

And I got to throw everyone!

I  have been working on an esoteric component of the martial arts called haragei, a term that roughly translates as “the way of the stomach”.  In the West we talk about the heart being the seat of our emotions.  In Japan the hara, or stomach is where emotions come from… in addition, and very importantly it is also the center of gravity of the body.  Japanese martial artists will talk about taking control of the hara, or center of mass.  Once you have learned to control your hara you can take control of another’s hara. 

And ultimately this is what you learn thru the study of martial arts: haragei, the control of the center of gravity AND the emotions, it carries a moral obligation… interestingly enough morality is learned in the day to day exchanges between the students as they work with each other… at times it is like being thrown into an emotional blast furnace.  Students learn to care for each other and how to deal with fear and anger in a positive way.

At about 4:00 pm we decided we had had enough sun and too many breakfalls - it was time to ameliorate the bumps and bruises with some liquid refreshment, food and laughter!

The party lasted late into the evening and it had been dark for some hours when everyone decided it was time to hit the road.

What a day!  Carol and I finished up the day by watching the rest of the NDSU – Iowa State football game.  Bison won 34 to 14.  Go Bison!

Thank you everyone, I want you to know that you very deeply touched my heart today (and hara too!)