After training we hung out for a bit then decided to do some Parkour (freerunning) around the woods. I wish I would have brought my camera along for this, but I think I would have had a little bit less fun. We started out around the springs down in the ravine. There were a lot of rocks and tree roots to jump around on as we avoided stepping in the water. We did a mildly serious study on running around in areas with sketchy terrain--integrating relaxed breathing and form, being able to observe objects in the distance while walking (i.e. using peripheral vision to help navigate the terrain), and what tends to happen when running speed is increased (more mistakes!). For our purposes, we never really got above a really fast walk, but things still got a little hairy with wet rocks and tree roots and shoes from misjudging certain obstacles. I found the most challenging feats to be commited jumps onto wet rocks or roots with steep angles.
As we made our way further into the woods beyond the springs, we came upon a thirty to fourty-foot cliff that seemed like it might be fun for climbing. There was a tree growing a foot or so away from the face of the cliff, so we all either just climbed up the tree or used the tree to ascend the face to a height of twenty feet or so. The cliff face was quite vertical, and the rocks were a bit loose in parts, so none of us ventured too far away from the support of the tree. We found another area that was a bit nicer for simple climbing, so all of us except Mark (he took a harder route a ways off, being the experienced climber he is) went up this way and hung out at the top for a few minutes. Climbing up this way was not particularly dangerous, there were a few questionable places, but nothing risky if we remained calm. I didn't find myself getting panicky or hesitant on the way up. Coming down was more interesting. I stayed calm and maintained my breathing, but I had to consciously apply myself in this respect. I noticed that as I became more relaxed, my natural climbing ability kicked in a little more efficiently. I scooted my body closer to the face. Footholds that were not entirely horizontal and had some loose rocks and dirt on them were approached carefully, but not with the kind of tension that will cause a quick and nasty slip.
After this we went back up to the campsite to get ready for a swim in the springs. The water was refreshingly cold. After a bit of swimming, we went back up to the campsite. Mark and Annla started getting the food ready while the rest of us ended up dueling with Jack and Elias using Mark's set of shinai and bokken. Having a kid swing a sword at you with all his might is interesting. In some ways it's more intimidating because the kid, if young enough, still believes that since we're three or four times his size, that we're invincible. So he swings with all his might and from the most unorthodox of angles. In addition to that we had to be careful not to hit their fingers (or keep them from hitting their fingers). At one point in time, when I was dueling one of the twins, Gene pulls him aside and whispers to him to start trying to hit my body rather than my sword. Protecting myself actually became pretty difficult after that! I'm glad they only had the shinai to attack us, otherwise I might have some nice bruises. Working with swords is always great fun.
That night, after resting and eating some ridiculously fantastic food prepared and supplied by Gene, Annla, and Mark, we did some more freerunning/Parkour to get to the swimming area. I noticed that because most of my blood was around my torso, being involved in the digestive processes, that I stayed quite warm in the water as long as I didn't have my chest in. Swimming around or standing in water above my chest became quite cold very quickly. I don't have the opportunity to get myself out in nature that often, so swimming at night in cold dark water was very and soothing peaceful in its own way.
After swimming, we pretty much just hung around the fire until we all eventually went to bed. I figured there wouldn't be any rain, so I just parked my sleeping bag near the fire and fell asleep pretty quickly. I awoke to some racket in the middle of the night, but went right back to sleep. Later that morning we realized that the racket was some racoons getting into our food that we left out. They had actually been sneaking around while we were hanging out by the fire that evening and had stolen a container of cookies while we weren't but ten feet away.
So, basically, we had a blast!
Annla shows up while Gene relaxes and Mark shows off his curves.
Gene and Mark swordfighting a pair of identically deadly opponents.
Martial artist of the emerging generation.
Gene sword fighting with his boys.
Hanging out a bit after training.
