Shugyo

The Purpose Of Severe Training

A student rests during a black belt test involving shugyo.

Our black belt tests are not a race...they are a marathon. I intentionally make them physically and emotionally demanding on all of our students, not just the person testing. It's about four hours of hell for all of us.

I have mentioned this in other posts, but the inspiration for our belt tests comes from my own experience in Japan almost 30 years ago. Our small aikido dojo would travel from Misawa to Kashima City a couple hours south of Tokyo for summer training every year which included belt testing after three days of intense training in the ruthless August heat.

The dojo was a couple hundred years old, attached to an even older Shinto shrine. Training started early, about seven in the morning. We'd start with bokken (wooden sword) and jo (short staff) and then move on to the various joint locks and throws in the aikido curriculum. Meals were small and well, unAmerican. A peice of raw fish and some rice, or a raw vegetable and rice. One year I actually brought an MRE (meal ready to eat) from my military readiness bag to supplement my sparse rations. If you’ve ever had one, you know a little goes a long way.

I tested for my shodan (black belt) with four other guys. The first part of the test involved dodging and avoiding swift bokken strikes deployed by one of the head teachers. The first guy to attempt it got hit right in the forehead. There is a distinct sound a wooden sword makes when it comes into contact with a human skull. His test was over. Then it was my turn.

What followed was a never-ending bout of being thrown, pinned and generally beat up for the better part of two hours. It was relentlessly hot and my uniform was already soaked from the prior two days of training. So many times I wanted to quit. You start asking yourself what the hell you’re doing and why. What was the point? All for some silly piece of cloth that I could have gotten just about anywhere else without the intense pain and discomfort.

It sounds a little dramatic but that’s pretty much how it went down. You lose track of time and eventually your pain and exhaustion and you just keep going. Something happens during those moments of intense fatigue…your body and mind become weightless. You stop worrying about what other people think and what your body is telling you and you just…keep going.

The Japanese term for this experience is shugyo. Shugyo is intentional suffering, physical and emotional; a way to “purge” and purify your body and mind through arduous training. It’s not just an aikido thing; karate, judo, kendo and other martial arts often have their own form of shugyo. I’m sure extreme athletes, the men and women who do crazy things like triathlons have a similar experience. And I’m willing bet that only a small percentage of people actually put themselves through something like this.

Let’s face it, life has become too easy for most of us. We no longer have to hunt or plant crops to get food. We don’t have to defend our homesteads or our homeland…that’s something we pay other people to do. The most challenge we get is pushing ourselves to go to work every day. We, and I think men in particular, have lost their warrior spirit.

We would all do well to have the occasional challenge that shugyo presents. To push ourselves past our normal boundaries and reach a state of calm we simply cannot achieve by watching some movie or attempting to placate ourselves with various distractions. Shugyo forces us to see ourselves for what we are and deal with it. The average person seeking new and improved ways to comfort themselves will have a difficult time understanding shugyo.

So, tomorrow, June 11, 2022, I have the honor of testing another person for shodan. It doesn’t happen very often in our small dojo. People have to be here a number of years before I consider putting them up for this challenge because I plan to run them into ground…everybody, actually, including me. We all suffer together and one person’s victory is a victory for everyone in the dojo as well as our families. It has nothing to do with a title or a trophy. It is a symbol of what a person is capable of. At least, that’s the way I see it.

If you happen to be in the area, stop by and see what shugyo looks like. Or, come for the party afterwards. We will be easy to spot…a group of tired, beat up people with ice packs, bandages and a beer or two. And I guarantee, some smiles.

OSU!

Dave Magliano

Tatsu Dojo

JIssenkan Budo

Dojo Cho