Jizaikan

Shugyo 2009 – Wow!

Naturally, when I learned that this year’s Jizaikan Chicago shugyo involved training with Jotoshi Maienza and a Delta Force Instructor, Jarod and I absolutely could not resist signing up. As we understood it, we were going to be learning stealthy techniques to infiltrate, interrogate and assassinate someone planning a dastardly deed. This is the exciting stuff movies are made of, and training of this sort could drive me well on my way to a starring role in an Angelina Jolie comedic satire. Of course, I’d end up in a body cast by the end of the movie (as I surely will do in reality). Also, the shugyo was slated to include teachings from Jotoshi Maienza of the Ten Chi Jin scroll, climbing arts, and use of metsubushi (blinding powder). I was ecstatic to be able to learn these incredible things, and felt so fortunate to even have the opportunity to study with such exceptionally knowledgeable instructors.

Friday started out as any other weekday. I awoke early, typed a few reports for the hospital, and shuttled my 14-year-old son safely to school. That’s when my escape from reality began. With the help of my little 11-year-old ninja, Jarod and I finished loading my car and headed to Sensei Messner’s home. We had to finish a few odds and ends, but soon we were on our way to a fascinating weekend. The conversations of the 6+ hour drive were compelling, the music was pumping and energy was high. Unfortunately, too high and we missed a turn, which took us about an hour out of the way. No problem! Of course we hit Chicago rush-hour traffic, which set us back even more, but hey, what’re you gonna do? A true ninja adapts to any situation. We made the trip unscathed and still high on energy, in good spirits and psyched for the incredible weekend that lay ahead.

Since we were behind schedule, we unfortunately did miss out on the night concealment strategies. The other participants were deep into training, so we brought our belongings into the lodge, found some bunk beds, and headed out to the trail. As I was walking along, I noticed some odd figures alongside the gravel road. Those oddities turned out to be people, dressed in camouflage and black clothing, slinking along theroad, distorting their bodies so as not to be seen. Very stealthy! I felt embarrassed, as I had no idea how long I had walked and talked unknowingly amongst these people. The drill ended about the time we reached the leaders, but we were able to glean a bit of knowledge from simple observation and few more concluding pointers from Kancho Eichenberg.

The night concluded with getting to know people around the campfire and roasting marshmallows. Is there a Japanese word for Smores? I remember watching the people there (most of them had known each other for years), and thinking how special a group of people they were. It was like observing a family reunion. Everyone was so friendly, joyous, and full of life. But Jarod and I were tired from a long day and left for bed.

I awoke Saturday morning early and headed for the shower…the cold shower. The insanely cold shower! The oh-my-goodness-my-goose bumps-have-goose bumps shower. But WOW did that wake me up! It turns out the pipes were switched. Ya. I could have had a warm shower. Oh well. Always glean positive from a negative situation…I saved utilities! After a satisfying breakfast, we headed out to the training field for some intense training from the Ten Chi Jin scroll, which was incredible. We acquired a vast amount of knowledge from the Ten Chi Jin scroll, Jarod broke his bokken, and I swear I broke my butt.

Around noon, we took lunch, which included a very delicious shredded BBQ chicken sandwich, hot dog and chips. Jarod befriended a couple of delightful boys from Chicago, and I had the privilege of sharing a table with Kancho Eichenberg and his wife, Michelle; Jeff Gregorec, the Delta Force Instructor; Sensei Messner; and a couple other Chicago students. The conversations were intriguing, and I was honored to have the opportunity to get to know each of them.

Mid afternoon…time to play like the Special Forces do. We learned how to move as a unit through the woods, which included navigating dense shrubbery, and crossing paths and open spaces as stealthily as possible. Our training also included hand signals required to move a unit without verbal communication.

We quickly decided our roles, which were Jim (a Chicago student) as point, Jarod and Sensei taking left and right, and myself watching the back. We broke off the main path and deep into the shrubs and poison ivy (and boy, did Jarod ever suffer from poison ivy in the few days post shugyo). At first, I found myself making so much noise, rustling through the shrubbery and cracking branches. I sounded like an elephant. It became easier to become stealthy as our time went on, or at least as stealthy as I can be.

We then spent some time surveying the camp, familiarizing ourselves with the layout and trails. Then off to the lodge, where we learned how to secure a building, attempting to enter as stealthily as possible regardless of the way the door opens. After learning this, we took a brisk walk down to some cabins, where we attempted to put this knowledge into effect. Also, we had to calculate the best way to get to the cabins undetected. Finally, we were shown how to ‘take out’ guards as quietly as possible, which included sneaking up behind, covering their mouth and nose, and some nasty spinal stuff.

After another satisfying meal (spaghetti, salad and bread), we were ready for our evening mission! We combined with another unit and were given our instructions. We were to find two sentries, gather information on where the target would be and when, and then ‘taking them out,’ of course. After this, our mission was to find a camera with a picture of the target, which was located in one of the cabins. We would then have the who, where and when needed to accomplish our mission.

After a brief meeting, we headed on our way to objective #1, boldly down a path to save time. Mistake. We were compromised almost immediately. Fortunately, we were given another chance. Off into the woods we went. We made our way through the dense shrubbery to the lodge, snapping small twigs (much quieter than earlier in the day), getting snagged on prickly bushes, and eaten by bugs. Our leaders decided to split our unit up to go around the lodge, then meet up at a ‘certain location’ at a preset time.

Sensei, Jim, Jarod and I traversed through the woods and made it to the lodge. Jarod and I stayed as look outs, while Sensei and Jim went about our first mission…interrogating the sentries, then ‘kill’ them. This happened very quickly. Unfortunately, I was not able to see our incredibly stealthy assassinators in action. They were fast, they were oh so quiet. The sentries said they never heard them coming. WHAM! The sentries suddenly found themselves flying backwards on the ground. The information was gathered and both sentries were quickly eliminated. The four of us then continued our plan to rendezvous with the rest of our unit. Unfortunately, the other team had yet to arrive. After waiting a few minutes, we came to the conclusion that the team must have went on to objective #2, which was securing the cabins and gathering intel on who the target was. We decided to proceed with the mission and head to the place the target would be, and wait. One problem…we forgot to exchange cell phone numbers.

In actuality, we had no idea what happened to the other team, where they were, if they had proceeded to the next objective. Sensei, Jarod and I sat and listened to two men speaking, one of whom was our target, while Jim proceeded to objective #2 to find the other team. We must have sat for an hour. It was a very memorable hour though. I sat pondering the night. Here I was, a single 34-year-old mother, at-home transcriptionist, for a weekend living the life of a commando. What a wild concept. What a crazy concept. What an out-of-the-box concept. I remember feeling so fortunate to be a part of an organization like the Jizaikan. A place that can bring such adventure and knowledge to an absolutely ordinary woman. Would I ever use these things I had learned in real life? Perhaps. I can always sneak up on my teenagers now!

I did learn some invaluable lessons on the value of our role in society, working together to achieve a desirable outcome, trusting leadership, building friendships, and that I can accomplish grueling tasks even when at the point of complete exhaustion. I remember listening to the locusts and tree frogs, feeling the crisp September evening air, and being thrilled my life had led me to this fairytale destination. Oh, snap! Back to reality! Dang it! Another team sniped the target! Game over.

Saturday, September 5th was coming to an end. What a day. Oh my goodness, I could hardly believe I made it through it. Our extraordinary day ended after a bit more time spent at the campfire, then the exhaustion was too much to bear. Jarod and I went back to our bunks, laid down, and were OUT COLD! Sunday included more training from the Ten Chi Jin taught by Jotoshi Maienza, climbing tactics, and metsubushi eggs. Using the metsubushi eggs was a blast! The first egg Sensei threw at me went right in my mouth. I had a gasping, oh beep look on my face. Baby powder down the esophagus. Not good. I gagged and coughed…ewe! Training with the metsubushi was so exciting, and we all were subsequently baby-powder fresh and soft! We then worked on climbing tactics, including running up trees (of course Jarod was on pins and needles waiting for this and has used it quite a bit since), and scaling walls.

We then were the honored audience for an absolutely incredible and amazing black belt test cemented by Karri Rahkonen. This test had its own inherent lesson, that I and the other Budo Kai students need to step it up! We concluded our time at the Girl Scout camp by exercising some community service and cleaned the lodge. We said our farewells to our fellow martial friends, and headed out.

The trip back was not as energetic, but still enjoyable. We rolled into Mansfield around midnight. The knowledge I attained through this shugyo could have taken a lifetime to learn; from the Aiki-Ninjutsu techniques, the brief Special Forces training, and most importantly, the life lessons learned and friendships made. This was an unforgettable experience that I count myself very privileged to have taken part of. I’m very grateful for all of the people who took the incredible amount of time needed to put the shugyo together; the leadership, the cooks, the planners…they are all truly heroes. Thank You!

Author – Sandy Lykins
Budo Kai dojo

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