I was wondering if anyone has ever tried cold water dousing the way Morihei Ueshiba is reputed to have regularly done in Hokkaido. A good friend of mine who is a teacher of Systema (a Russian martial art) showed me an exercise they do which is part of their health system. It involves standing outdoors in swimming trunks and then pouring a bucketful of cold water over your head and body! The lovely snow and ice we had in Manchester over Christmas got me in the mood for doing it. Once I had gotten over the initial fear, it actually felt amazing. According to the Russians, it is very good for the metabolism, breathing and immune systems. Has anyone else tried this, either as part of Aikido training or otherwise? I'd be interested to hear about your experiences. Happy Christmas and New Year!
I've never done that, but once when Skiing in the French Alps, I climbed out of a heated outside pool and laid down in the snow for several minutes, then jumped back into the hot pool. Was a cool feeling. And laying in the snow, there was a lot of steam coming off of me.
I think my heart would explode. Though I've been known to try other things that wouldn't be called "smart".
Tried it a few times, Don't know if it's really good for you, but you get a really fresh clean sensation over you (and your skin) when you leave the waterfall. You shouldn't do it to often though, with pneumonia and all lurking just about the corner. ^_^
Hi Fujin, Yes that clean, fresh sensation is what I felt. It's great. Interestingly enough, the Russian practitioners claim that it actually prevents sickness; though you make a good point about pneumonia. They also believe that if you are sick, dousing with icy water every 2 hours will help you get better! Personally, I have found it great for dealing with headaches and tension. The downside is that my wife has threatened divorce unless I sit in front of a radiator for 10 minutes before getting into bed.
Our Soke (who trained in Japan under Shioda and was graded for some of his BB's by Ueshiba) split the Shudokan Aikido summer school students into two groups. One group with him, one group with an ex-RAF tornado fighter pilot, survival expert, 6th Dan etc etc. I joined Soke's group. We were all to set off across the fields at 6 a.m. and enter a freezing cold river for 10 minutes and then jog back. The first group set off with the fighter pilot. Soke then took the rest of us round the corner and said: 'OK, you passed the IQ test and chose Soke - time for breakfast!'. An hour later the puking hordes returned to face a day's training. We more intelligent bods had a good RAF base fry-up and tried very hard not to laugh all day!
It might help you get better, I don't know if anyone has ever researched effects of misogi practises on the immune system. I believe it is also a ritual of cleansing the body and mind in the religion Shinto? Don't know if anyone can confirm this? But I should also suggest when getting out of the water, to have a warm towel laying near you, or a blanket, or the option to go sit by a fire place. I would not reccomend standing in the open air after you've gotten out of the water. This would be a perfect time to catch the forementioned pneumonia. This off course is only true in the autumn/winter time, in the summer I'd say do it all you want .
