At the beginning of the pandemic, I wrote a few thoughts about what the dojo was going through as we adjusted to pandemic life. I updated and added to it several times. I thought it would be appropriate to share with you my observations of the past 2 years. Themes of challenge and reward run through most of it.
3.25.20
March 13 was the first day of the official quarantine, at least in my head. I was teaching one minute and then the next thing I knew, schools closed for 2 weeks. I think this was the same day that Sensei Foster made the announcement that the Dojo was closing as well. When I got the email, my heart sank. I had been convinced that I would get to attend at least one last Saturday morning class before the inevitable happened. Since I began training in 2016, I have attended almost every single Saturday class, as long as I was healthy and in town. It was a ritual, not unlike church or synagogue. So the thought of being in town, being healthy, and not getting up to go to the Dojo on a Saturday morning was a little unreal to me.
Weeks later, 4.28.2020
We have been “distance” training for weeks now. I have gotten into a routine of sorts. I make it to most Saturday classes. Hard to keep track, the mind is a bit hazy these days. I go to most of the Monday classes. Most of the brown belt. Training from home has come with a lot of challenges, and a few benefits. There are 3 of us in this house who train. Most days of the week, the late afternoon and early evenings are filled with the grainy sounds and images of
people counting for kata or basics or squats. Our first floor is pretty open, with no doors except for the bathroom. Any noises reverberate and either interrupt those not practicing or invade the practice of those who are.
Sensei Schwab brought up the challenges of staying focused when we do not have the benefit of other practitioners surrounding us, as we would in the Dojo. It has proven to be such a mental challenge. There are generally 2 of us
practicing in a somewhat small space, so we are constantly juggling our positions. There is often someone doing the dishes in the adjacent kitchen, or answering the phone, or even pouring a glass of wine and looking in on me doing squats and kicks (not naming names here). There was a memorable day when it was my turn to count. I said, nice and loud, “Yoi”, when out of the corner of my eye, a large squirrel ran into view at the sliding door to my left. It was as
though he wanted to join the class.
The benefits: being able to preserve the ritual and importance of donning my gi, bowing in, going through basics and kata, and seeing the faces of those with whom I have had the privilege to train for 4 plus years. Being able to still carve out a part of my days for exercise, physical and mental, even while socially and physically distant from the practice. Being one of the few people in the Dojo who can occasionally work on contact with another person. (My arms are thanking me for the lack of bruises and swelling these days).
Fast forward to 3.21.2021
We made the transition from Zoom to parking lot practice sometime in May 2020? June? (editor's note: July 2020) Some people still logged onto a Zoom for those first few months...then it went all in-person. We have trained in heat, cold, snow, sleet, rain, slush, wind (remember the huge tree falling down and blocking the driveway on a Wednesday class night?). We have watched the seasons change as we continued the rituals of karate. Challenges galore: getting used to training in a mask (admittedly easier in the winter weather than in August); training on a slope; training in sneakers or hiking shoes; not being able to do contact (that’s a huge one).
Benefits: innumerable. Continuing to train through a worldwide pandemic; continuing to work hard both physically and mentally; training with fellow practitioners and gaining so much more than community. Karate has been a lifesaver for me throughout this time. I cannot imagine what this past year would have been like without it. As we near the “lessening” of the pandemic, I look forward to doing contact once again (my arms, not so much). I look forward to training in just a gi and barefoot...no layers, no shoes. I look forward to a return to “normalcy”. However, I do think that some of the things we have done over the past year would be great to continue...occasional classes outside...100 kata challenge at the park down the street. Maybe even dosokai one of these months....I can still hope for that.
Fast forward again...to 2.2.2022
It’s interesting to look back on this. The “lessening” of the pandemic that I spoke of on March 21, 2021 was not so much a lessening as: fewer cases, then Delta variant, then fewer cases, then Omicron....and now what? We were blessed to go inside to train for what...about a month or so? Then back outside again just before the Christmas holiday. The past two nights we are officially back indoors again. Pretty crazy how we seem to have gotten used to these adjustments to
our practice and to the challenges. Being inside is indeed amazing, but it comes with its own set of new challenges that we did not have pre-Covid. Masking indoors is really tough. Contact is a bit nerve-wracking. The floor can be unbelievably cold, leaving me sometimes with toes that take over half an hour to truly thaw out. I am now an official nominee to test for my black belt. I made it this far...while spending almost two years training under these unusual circumstances. If anything, the challenges of training have made me more resilient, and more accepting of adversity. I know there are some practitioners who took extended breaks from the dojo, whether it was for safety reasons or dislike of training in cold and snow. I understand their perspective. But for me, that was never an option (however, I don’t know how long I would last if we had to do zoom karate again!). I am so grateful that we were given the opportunity to train outside. We were lucky really, that we had a parking lot in which to train. It could have been so very different.
5.1.2022
So, where am I now? What does karate mean to me? Frankly, it is everything. Looking back on this “COVID diary” I see a few themes running throughout: Karate is a surprise, a challenge, a goal, a ritual, a community. Karate is a surprise, because out of all the sports I could’ve chosen at the age of 42, I chose this one. It continually amazes me that I’m 6 years in and the attraction to this martial art has not waned, not one bit. It is a surprise because I am always learning. Every single class. I love that aspect of karate. Karate is a challenge, because it is so mentally and physically challenging
(especially at my “advanced” age). I don’t know if my pushups will ever get better; my knees are often creaking and in pain; I still have challenges focusing during class: thoughts of school and home invade my mind. So it is a challenge that pushes me, tests me, and ultimately rewards me. Karate is a goal for me. It is my goal to attend at least 3 classes per week. It is my goal to get better at certain moves or katas. It is my goal to earn my black belt. Having a goal over these past 6 years (and especially these pandemic years) has been essential. Something to train for, something to reach for.
Karate is a ritual. Hydrate before class, eat something for nourishment. Get into your gi. Bow in upon entering and upon leaving the changing room. Bow to your instructors and fellow practitioners. Follow the customs of the dojo. I love the
ritual. It shapes my weeks and my months and my years. And karate is a community. What an amazing community. I thought recently how a sport like this, with minimal conversation while you are training, with minimal opportunity for “small talk”, can foster such a strong and amazing community of people. There is such an intimate connection between the people we have trained with for years. People have seen each others’ struggles, and efforts, and mistakes. They cheer on others’ successes and applaud their gains. We punch each other and block each other and get physically intimate in such a vulnerable way. This develops a deep community where I feel truly looked out for and appreciated. What a gift. I look forward to many more years of karate, the challenges, the successes, and most importantly, the community.
For each rank promotion, we ask students to reflect on what karate means to them. This essay was submitted by Ms St. Pierre on the occasion of her sho dan (first degree black belt) test, and it captures much of what we experienced as a dojo training through the first years of the pandemic, from Zoom classes during lockdown to outdoor masked training through all seasons.