In 1977 Shihan Fujiwara was an Uchideshi of Mas Oyama. On
January 3rd to 5th of that year Shihan and other Kyokushin
Karate students traveled to Mitsumime Jinja; a mountain
that stands 1200 meters tall. Mas Oyama had spent 1.5 years
in this mountain training in isolation. Now students of Mas
Oyama will spend 3 days experiencing "Mountain Training".
The first day the students arrived at the mountain. Almost
immediately they started training. The students trained for
3 hours working on their basics. They did strength drills,
sprints, and physical exercises. There were many different
students there. Ranging from beginners to advanced
practitioners; children, woman, and older.
They had thick blankets to keep them warm during sleep.
But waking up was a trying task in itself. Shihan stated that
the firstfirst night he was there he saw many other students
go to sleep in their GIs. Shihan has just worn a t-shirt and
undergarments. When we woke up in the morning it was
"Sooo cold when put gi on".
The second day they woke at 6AM and went to the shrine.
They started with "Kito" (prayer) lead by a type of priest "A
faith healer". The "priests" were praying for a good year,
health, and good training. They sat "seiza" on a wooden floor
for 15-20 minutes. Their legs had fallen asleep and they
could not walk, many had to crawl out of the room. After the
shrine they started their basic training again. After their
training they all had breakfast. After breakfast they are
allowed a break. Many decide to catch-up on some sleep and
just relax for a while. After the break they then have lunch.
After lunch, Shihan said with a laugh "Major Training".
There is a mountain road that the students have to run down
and run back up. The run down takes about 20 minutes; but
the run up takes 2 hours. Many try to run as much as
possible; but the steep incline makes this a very difficult
task. Many have trouble completing it.
After Shihan got back he had to make sure everyone else got
back up. He was a "captain" of the team at during the trip
and had the responsibility of looking after students under
him. Once everyone was backup they had dinner. Many
people we so worn down from the hard climb back up to the
mountain. After dinner many went to the bath house. The
water was extremely hot and no one got in. Mas Oyama came
and got right in. He "Cooked like a lobster".
Day 3, started with the 6AM wake and up went to the shrine
again. Similar to day 2; but people were extremely sore from
the run and cold that some started to cry. Shihan was sore
too; but he was ok. They finished their training and had
their breakfast. After breakfast they packed their luggage
and headed down to the waterfall.
They got to the waterfall and changed into another gi. The
most experienced went to the waterfall first to break the ice
and make a path for everyone else. The group formed a
circle and got into Sanchin Dachi stance. The continued to
throw punches over and over again. One by one student
went to the waterfall while others waited their turn throwing
punches. Since Shihan was a black belt he was one of the
first to go. He went to the waterfall and stood under it. He
punched 20 times, his spirit was very strong, and punched
extremely hard. Shihan said it was an experience that is hard
to describe and that one has to experience it to truly
understand it. After Shihan got back his gi and ice formed on
it! No one got sick; everyone's spirit was so high. They had
found and broken physical and mental limits. Shihan said,
"Experience is the best teacher. Mas Oyama gave you the
opportunity to experience. Something would have never
thought of doing. Teachers knowledge passing on is a great
experience".
A funny experience also took place after the waterfall
training. There was a camera man there who was taking
pictures of the students. The camera man wanted to get
some pictures of the students fighting in the river. Mas
Oyama told Shihan and other black belts to go get in the river
and throw punches and kicks. They had to take out their
cold, wet, frozen, GIs and put them back on again. They
were so upset at the camera man; but would never say
anything as to not offend Mas Oyama. The top students went
to the river and started punching and kicking while Mas
Oyama was screaming punch and kick harder. The river bed
was not easy to stand on. There was a strong current and
rocks on the ground. Shihan was throwing strikes and a rock
came up from under his feet. He was swept away in the river,
"I was so angry at the camera man!" He laughed about it
now; but at the time of the "swim", I am sure he did not find
it too funny. The next year though; the students had their
revenge. The same camera man came to the training and
some students threw him into the river!
Shihan Fujiwara has seen and experienced so much. Many of
appreciate how fortunate we are to have such an experienced
and great man to guide us in our training paths. Shihan said
it best with, "Experience is best teacher". Though many of
us will never experience mountain training, I'm sure Shihan
has plenty of interesting experiences to try our physical and
mental spirit.
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