#tameshigiri — Public Fediverse posts

July Recap: Martial Arts, Mats and Mountains.

Besides our regular twice-weekly Aikido practice (and of course we went horse riding as well) this July my daughter and I found ourselves visiting other dojos near us, meeting old friends and making new ones.

The month began with an invitation to a Saturday morning weapons class at a friend’s dojo. They practice in a school and their outdoor training area (which is the school’s football pitch) comes with a rather spectacular backdrop: the panoramic view stretches across the Salzach River to Burghausen Castle in Bavaria. Burghausen Castle is a massive medieval fortress. With a length of more than 1050 metres, it is apparently the longest castle complex in the world. We wanted to visit it after practice, but had to change plans, it was a busy day. Another time, hopefully.

A few days later, we visited another dojo in our area for an evening seminar. This one doesn’t offer a castle view, but it makes up for it with beautiful architecture. It was designed by a Japanese architect and built by the local government 20 years ago, together with some sports clubs. It is used by local and regional Martial Arts Clubs: Judo, Karate, Aikido, Jiu Jitsu – and more.

The following weekend brought something completely different. Some members of our Aikido club also practise Iaido, and one of them invited us to his home for an afternoon of Tameshigiri (practising sword cutting skills on straw mats, using traditional Japanese swords) The mats are tightly rolled, tied, and soaked in water for 24 hours to achieve the right density. However, this isn’t about destroying something. It’s about precision, focus, responsible and respectful handling of weapons – and perfect technique. I was the one with the camera, so I don’t have photos of myself in action, at least no good ones 😉

The highlight of the month was our annual summer seminar near Innsbruck last week: a full week of Aikido with four to five hours of training every day, bringing together participants and teachers from Austria, France and Germany. As always, it was inspiring, challenging, and a wonderful opportunity to train with so many different people.

There was only one small complication. We are in the middle of another heatwave. Temperatures are around 40°C, and unsurprisingly Austrian sports halls and dojos are not equipped with air conditioning. We trained, sweated, drank endless amounts of water and electrolytes and then trained some more. It was exhausting, but deeply rewarding.

However, I can’t even begin to describe how much self-discipline it takes me to spend five hours a day training in a sports hall when the weather outside is perfect for hiking and the mountains are right there outside the window, impossible to ignore. I resisted the temptation almost every day. Almost. Only one day I couldn’t resist the call of the mountains any longer, skipped training and went hiking instead. I did two summits and had an absolutely wonderful day, probably the best one since last summer. As I spent the day at an altitude of 2000 – 2600 metres above sea level, I was also able to escape the heat as an added bonus 😊

Some months don’t need a single highlight. Sometimes they become memorable simply because they are filled with the things you love.