Shugyo Training by Jerry Bomay

Japanese Shugyo training is hard arduous training.  It is designed to test the participants mentally and physically.  On May 6, six selected students and instructors joined me in this training session.  This training session has been in the works for over a year and something I always wanted to do.  I started mentioning it to several individuals about 6 months ago and they all seemed willing to give it a go. 

The training was mandatory for all instructors 18 and over and I selected individuals who I thought would be interested in the training.  The instructors that participated were, Mike Tyron, Jeremiah Traxler, Matt Roszell, Phil Oakes, and I.  Also Muzzy Kahn and Jeremy Hall were invited. 

The morning of May 6^th started out sunny and 38 degrees.  This was perfect weather for the upcoming training.  The first leg of training was a 4 mile run to the Newaygo County Sports Park .  After arriving we trained at the bottom of the hill and made many trips up and down the hill.  The next leg was a 4 mile run back to my house where we trained for another hour with bokkens and had a light snack which included oranges and bananas.  Then we went on another 6.5 mile run to the dojo where we wrestled for an hour.  The final run was a 6.5 miles back to my house where we again snacked and prepared ourselves for the final training session of the day, the 20.5 mile walk.

All of the runs were difficult due to the fact we were running up and down hills along with running on very sandy roads.  The grueling running events took its toll on 3 participants; only 4 individuals completed the running events.  However the weather was still cooperating with temperatures only reaching in the low 60s for the day and bright sunshine.  At 2:30 PM all seven of us started on our 20.5 mile walk.  The walk began slowly, we averaged only about 2 ½ miles an hour along with stretching every ¼ mile.  After 8 miles into the walk three of the participants elected to call it quits for the day and were picked up.  At this time the remaining 3 participants and my self picked up the pace to nearly 4 miles an hour for the last twelve miles.  We arrived back to my house at 9:45 PM exhausted but exuberant, the fact we completed the days training was a great feeling. 

The four of us that completed the training all agreed the 20 mile walk was by far the hardest part of the training.  Our feet became very swollen, sore and blistered.  There wasn’t a joint in our legs that didn’t hurt.  Every step of the way was a test of our will but we were committed to the fact that we were not giving up. 

A job well done to all that participated and especial congratulations to Mike Tyron, Jeremy Hall, Muzzy Kahn for completing all stages of  the shugyo training with me.  We will be doing this again next year if you are interested.