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This past weekend a group of sturdy Budoka of the International Budo Institute braved the elements and completed a Winter Zen walk up at Mont Tremblant, Quebec.
The morning started with freezing rain and so winter cloths covered in rain gear was the order of the day. After a few hours the freezing rain stopped and we had sunshine followed later by a light snow fall which was incredibly beautiful.
Near the end of the day mother nature started to kick up her heels and the light snow turned to blowing snow with a cold wind.
Fortunately, following Shihan Alain Bujold's advice we completed the Buddhist snow bath early in the day while the weather was milder. The bath had us strip naked and jump into the snow to cleanse our spirits for another year. Shihan York stood out from the crowd with a 5 foot leap into the snow. Much fun was had by all.
In the afternoon we stopped on the banks of the half frozen "Devil's River" and practiced Bo No Bogorino Yakusoku Kumite and Shi Shi Ryu No Bo Kata. It was a beautiful experience with lightly falling snow and the sound of the bo's crashing into each other. Silence in the snow on the banks of a half frozen river, the sounds of clashing Bo's with the backdrop of the flowing water. Now that's a Zen experience.
At the end of the day we vowed to repeat the experience before the end of winter. As O-Sensei Morihei Ueshiba of Aikido says, you should always practice your Budo out doors as much as possible to remain in harmony with nature. We hope that he would be happy with our efforts of the weekend.
Shihan Henderson
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