Seipai in the snow!

I don't know about you but we've had a lot of snow this last few days (about 6 inches). It has bought the usual travel chaos and school closures but it has also created a beautiful winter wonderland!

My sensei texted me this morning to say that class tonight has been cancelled because the school where we train is shut. I texted back (half jokingly, half meaning it) that we should do training in the snow. He replied that he thought that was a cool idea and he was up for it. So I sent him a challenge that I would practice Seipai outside in my back garden if he would do something too. He texted back that he was going to do some kobudo practice outside.

Well you can't renege on a challenge with your sensei can you?

So I put my coat on and some boots and went into my back garden to practice Seipai. My son took these photos of me:

Hope the neighbours weren't watching!

It's a lot harder doing kata in boots in several inches of snow and outdoor clothes make it difficult to be snappy with your moves. However, it was very invigorating and enjoyable out in the fresh air. I went through the kata about 6 times which got me pretty warmed up despite the 0 degrees temperature today! 

I think I should do this more often, it adds a new dimension to training. 

And just to show that my sensei kept his half of the bargain (though I expect he was planning to train outside all along anyway, he's pretty hardcore) here's the photo he sent me:

Okay, now I'm challenging you to train outside in the snow and post the evidence! 

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A British winter!

My street

Much of Britain is under a blanket of snow at the moment! Where I live we have had 18 inches of snow - this is a lot for us, especially as early as November. As Britons we really are not geared up for dealing with these conditions. As this is a relatively unusual situation for us the local councils can't justify buying expensive machinery to shift the snow and there is no compulsion (or habit) for people to fit winter snow tyres to their cars - the result is that side roads remain impassable and cars that do venture out slip and slide around or get stuck completely!

 

icicle hanging from the eaves!

My sons' have been off school for a week, though they did go back today;  local shops have run out of food because they can't receive deliveries; all bus services in my area have been cancelled completely and life has generally ground to a halt! My local express supermarket had a queue of at least 30 people trying to buy milk that had just been delivered but there has been no bread for 3 days!

 

My car!

However, we are a family of troopers! Both my husband and I have walked to work (6 miles for him, 3 miles for me) and my youngest son has continued to do his newspaper delivery round. Many other people have done the same thing - nothing seems to dampen the British spirit for long! I have never seen so many people walking around, clearing snow, shopping locally and just stopping for a chat. It's been quite a nice atmosphere - difficult situations do seem to bring out the best in people.

 

my hanging basket!

However, I've had enough of the snow now - I'd quite like it to disappear though with temperatures below zero it's not likely to happen soon! All my martial arts classes were cancelled this week and I'm getting withdrawal symptoms. I have done some training at home but it's not the same as going to class.

 

My back garden

I hope you've enjoyed my photos - no doubt you'll be thinking that this is nothing compared to what you have to endure every winter and I'm sure you'll be right! Have you had snow yet this winter? How do you cope with it where you are?

 

 

 

 

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.