Britain has been in the middle of a heat wave these last few weeks - well a heatwave by British standards anyway! It has been consistently around 25 degrees C (that's hot for us) and there has been very little rainfall for weeks (that's dry for us). We moan when it's cold and wet and now we are complaining that its too hot and dry - really, there's just no pleasing us!
Anyway, training has been a hot sticky affair recently. I have taken to wearing my old, thin, cheap gi that I started with and others are training in t-shirts instead of gi jackets. We have the fire doors open and are taking more frequent water breaks to prevent dehydration. Heat exhaustion is a potential problem and Chris Littlefair has addressed this issue in his most recent post.
Something about training in the heat seems to bring the class together a bit more - it must be the sense of suffering together. It also seems to bring out the slightly wicked side of us girls - well there's not many of us so we have to stick together! Sensei was demonstrating a 2-man locking drill ( he's pretty keen on drills since we attended the Patrick McCarthy course) and was demonstrating on one of our senior black belts, Bruce. The locks were going on pretty hard - wrist locks, arm locks, head locks, standing up and on the ground. Poor old Bruce was being twisted around, locked up and thrown to the ground like a rag doll!
For some reason this struck us girls as being quite amusing (I'm blaming it on the heat) and so we 'innocently' asked sensei to demonstrate it again...and again...and again....It was about the fourth time before Bruce cottoned on to what we were doing (we're so cruel!). He took it with good humour though .... so, if you're reading this Bruce, we're very sorry - hope you're not too sore today!
On a more serious note though, training in hot weather does have its inherent dangers. Dehydration and heat exhaustion do need to be watched out for. Do you have any tips for training safely in hot weather? Does the heat bring out your wicked side........?
Anyway, training has been a hot sticky affair recently. I have taken to wearing my old, thin, cheap gi that I started with and others are training in t-shirts instead of gi jackets. We have the fire doors open and are taking more frequent water breaks to prevent dehydration. Heat exhaustion is a potential problem and Chris Littlefair has addressed this issue in his most recent post.
Something about training in the heat seems to bring the class together a bit more - it must be the sense of suffering together. It also seems to bring out the slightly wicked side of us girls - well there's not many of us so we have to stick together! Sensei was demonstrating a 2-man locking drill ( he's pretty keen on drills since we attended the Patrick McCarthy course) and was demonstrating on one of our senior black belts, Bruce. The locks were going on pretty hard - wrist locks, arm locks, head locks, standing up and on the ground. Poor old Bruce was being twisted around, locked up and thrown to the ground like a rag doll!
For some reason this struck us girls as being quite amusing (I'm blaming it on the heat) and so we 'innocently' asked sensei to demonstrate it again...and again...and again....It was about the fourth time before Bruce cottoned on to what we were doing (we're so cruel!). He took it with good humour though .... so, if you're reading this Bruce, we're very sorry - hope you're not too sore today!
On a more serious note though, training in hot weather does have its inherent dangers. Dehydration and heat exhaustion do need to be watched out for. Do you have any tips for training safely in hot weather? Does the heat bring out your wicked side........?
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17 comments:
It gets pretty darn hot here in the Southeastern USA where I live, but luckily our "dojo" is actually a gym in a community recreation building and is air conditioned. Still gets pretty warm in the summer though, so in summers sensei allows up to wear a t shirt instead of gi jacket if we want to.
In my solo training I love training outdoors, but obviously when its 35 C (not unusual here) I either have to keep the outdoors stuff really short, or just forgo it altogether (all the while dreaming of Fall weather...)
That's one of our favorite things to do to the guy who gets to be on the receiving end of whatever choke we're learning for the day.
Coach: "Does anyone need to see that again?"
Someone: "Uh... yeah. Could you show that one more time? I didn't catch the choke at the end. "
It's all in good fun. Of course, you'll end up paying for it when you spar with that guy at the end of class. :D
As for the heat, it's still pretty cool in the PNW, and we're in a new space, so it remains to be seen how hot it's going to get.
Sandman, 35C? I'd just die!
Steve, mmmmm....I'd better watch out! Bruce is a mean sparrer!
I can relate to the issues with the heat! It's around 35-38 C on a given day here.
We have the option of wearing t-shirts in the summer too. I like wearing my full uniform, but having a 2hr class in this heat is brutal. It's not going to take much more for me to switch to a t-shirt.
I hear you about the "Can we see that again?" and I know from experience that it's not only we as students who ask. When I was being tested for my stripe, one of my self defense techniques was one that involved me disrupting my instructor's balance. He ended up landing flat on his back with a resounding splat. The other black belts who were watching ended up asking four times, "Can we see that again?"
Hi Ariel, clearly a wicked sense of humour permeates the MA world!lol.
Sue, I think you've probably got a wicked sense of humour anyway!
:-p
And brace yourself... 29 degrees forecast for Friday!
Hahahaha... That's awesome! I may have to try that. The only problem, is that I usually end up being the "crash test dummy," so I hope no one else catches on... *snicker*
June was hitting 100F+, on a regular basis. I finish each class, just soaked with sweat. Here in the American South, the humidity is just horrible, and the air conditioning in our dojo isn't the greatest.
I love it, though... When I'm sweating like a horse as we go through our calisthenics and stuff, rather than focus on how miserable it is, I just start grinning and think, Bring it on!!
If everyone is suffering under the same conditions, I'll be damned if I'm going to be the one to wimp out. Hahahaha...
Hi Chris, What, me? Most sensible and serious person you could ever hope to meet ;-)
I daren't complain about 29 C when the guys over the pond are sweltering in 35 C+!
Frank, You know what? I've just decided to stop complaining about the weather over here, it's clearly nothing compared to the conditions you are dealing with! I'm just a whinging pomme (as the Australian's like to call us).LOL
Nawww.... Miserable weather is just miserable and hard on everyone. The older I get, the less tolerant I am of cold weather. It can get as hot as it wants, and I'm like a lizard on a flat rock.
When the humidity is way up and the sweat doesn't evaporate and cool us off, it's like being smothered between two gerbils making whoopie in a wool sock.
Hahahaha.... Stay well hydrated. :-)
Frank, "two gerbils making whoopie in a wool sock."
Now you're just making me blush!lol
Hi Sue
I've found your blog on my karate-blog-hopping travels. My family and I started karate classes just before Christmas and we're really enjoying taking the karateka journey together. I'm amazed at just how many people take up martial arts as a family. It's great! Love the blog and I totally, totally hear you on the heat. We train in a local church all (aka NO aircon, just banging doors trying to get a through draft!) and it's toasty in there at the moment.
Looking forward to reading some more of your archives and getting to see what tortures lie ahead of me! LOL.
xMx
Hi Marie, thanks for joining my blog - I've just popped over to read yours, looking forward to following your karate journey and comparing notes!
Sorry, posted that from my DHs account! D'oh!
Thanks for your comment on my blog Sue. I just realised we totally have the same blog template! LOL. That was a bit spooky and random!
Hi Marie, yes I noticed that too. Great minds think alike!
Hot? Please. I'm from Perth, Western Australia, and the Jan de Jong dojo was this big old building with a tin roof and no ceiling, and therefore no insulation. Also, no airconditioning and the overhead fans were ineffective. In the summer in Perth the temperature can get to 40 degrees celsius plus ... and the temperature inside the dojo is 5 degrees higher than that. On some hot days we could not stand in one place on the mats because it would burn our feet.
Jan de Jong trained as a child and young man in Semarang, Indonesia. Humid and hot. He's tell of taking two gi to training because of all the sweat. He's say his first gi was saturated before he even stepped onto the mat or did any training.
Hot indeed. But then the English do tend to complain a bit ... a well known fact among Austalians :)
Hi John, okay, I admit it, I don't know the meaning of the word hot! I don't think I could cope with Australian summers though, I'm much more a temperate climate person. I couldn't cope with all those poisonous spiders that live under your toilet seats either! (or is that an urban myth?)LOL.
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