Chidokan Misogi 2011

Once again the anual misogi had finally arrived for our dojo. Like last year, we had to get up before 6.30am and had to be there before then. So mum and I got up earlier. I think my mum woke up at 4.50am and then she woke me up.

We arrived at Mission Bay, near the fountain and it was freezing cold. Luckily, it wasn't raining like last time. There were people from the Papatoetoe dojo, North Shore dojo and the main dojo New Lynn. Misogi is compulsory for people who are green belts and higher. Everyone that was there assembled by the grassy area. Our sensei said to get in a circle for basics. It's kind of like a warmup, where we do basic punching and kicking. 15 minutes later, our sensei instructed us to get into groups for kata. There were three groups, one for the black belts, one for the purples and brown belts and anyone who was lower than those belts, in the third group. We practiced our kata over and over again perfecting our moves. With that finished, we headed for the beach and were knee deep in the ice water. We got into two lines for free sparring. I felt like my feet were sinking in the sand and I couldn't move as fast as I wanted to. While sparring, I got dunked in the water about four times from higher belts and even my sensei who wasn't my opponent. I had a lot of fun and I can't wait for next year.

*Chidokan Karate lessons are Monday and Wednesday at 6pm-7pm held at the Alan Brewster Recreation Centre in Papatoetoe.