It was Monday morning in week 34 when I get the call from Kimu Sensei:

"How about a RR camp 10.2 in 2 weeks" he asked?

"Uhh, well that sounds ok" I replied a little surprised. I had just gotten used to being able to sleep again after the last RR camp, but was fresh for another trip.

"You need it because there is a gap now" Kimu Sensei said.

By gap through it is meant that we are ready to learn more and understand what we have learned. Or at least I think that is what is meant. I immediately set about calling the other chief instructors to see if they were ready for another trip. "again, already, jooee-jaaee, ok it's alright" was some of the first feedback that came from my colleagues. However, everyone quickly agreed that it was a good idea. Not because we knew what was going to happen, but somehow, Kimu Sensei is usually right when he says that we are ready to learn more, and it always falls behind us. It did this time too.

Friday 10 September 2010 at At 13.00 we were supposed to meet again in the lobby of the hotel in Malmö. The weather was rainy and dark and although the atmosphere was upbeat, it was Friday after all 🙂 , it was clear that everyone was excited about what this RR camp was going to be about. Maybe because we had a little sense of what awaited us on the other side of the Øresund Bridge. On the way over we could see the fog and rain hanging like a heavy cloud over the city. Malmö's trademark "the turning torsoe" could only be seen half due to the weather, but still the atmosphere remained very good and the usual Friday "under the belt jokes" also came in a steady stream. The level in that area rose a bit when we all found out that the only bachelor in the group was going on a date on Saturday night in Copenhagen.

Like the previous RR camp, the first step consisted of a trip to the fitness center on the 20th floor. After a walkthrough on how to use a rowing machine properly from Kimu Sensei, it was time to see if I could tear it apart. The pace was fast and after 10 minutes I could taste my own lung tissue. Kjeld Renshi-dai sat on the machine next to me and sounded like he was rowing on Bagsværd lake on a sunny summer day. No, it doesn't fit, he was ripping at the leash like an angry pit bull with electrodes on the nobler parts.

He quickly came in front of me and lay there until 7-8 minutes were left, then I could see that he was also starting to get a little tired. We had been given the task of coming in under the time from the last RRcamp, which we also succeeded by approx. 0.0008 seconds per. 500 meters or something like that, but we got below that. After a quick round of muscle training, it was time for an even quicker round of bathing. At that time I had another deja-vu from my military past, as a sergeant major in the Royal Life Guard.

Exactly 10 minutes after the muscle training, we were ready for a round of ryugi training, which to start with gave a recap from the last RRcamp. Which was nice enough just to have a refresher in case you had forgotten about it.

I hadn't forgotten much, since between the two RRcamps I had had to use everything I had learned and recognized to save my own school from very difficult challenges. It's the way with problems that they can only be solved if you recognize them. I had had a problem which I had only begun to recognize during RRcamp 1 and which I only really recognized when reality overtook me before I could do anything about it. But then it was also just about getting out across the steppes and getting something done about the problem before it made life miserable for my school and the members.

After 5 hours of work and full concentration, it was time for dinner, which was once again to be eaten at a restaurant at the opposite end of town.

Now Malmö has a reasonably good center with a pedestrian street and all. And when I say that it was at the opposite end of the city, it should probably be taken with a grain of salt, but let's say that it was at the opposite end of their pedestrian street, which is roughly the same length as Strøget in Copenhagen . Yes, ok I didn't have a great sense of distance at the time, which is probably due to Kimu Sensei and Jens Kyoshi setting up a pace on the walk that made the surroundings disappear at the same pace as if you were driving down a Formula 1 racer through the pedestrian street. The reason for this pace must probably be seen in the light of the fact that the surroundings were not the same as the last time we were in the city. There weren't that many people on the street, which is due to the rain, and they were much more dressed up than last time, so the focus was more on getting to the restaurant than on enjoying the surroundings.

The food tasted really good again and when we sat in the hotel room again for another round of ryugi, I could tell that a "grandfather" would be in his place. But there was no time for that, work had to be done and that was done for the big gold medal. Around midnight we were again given a task that had to be completed by 08:00 the next morning. And again there was breakfast at 07.00.

It's actually fantastic to sit and work with something that at first may seem like something that "just" has to be done because you haven't had it done before, because you hadn't just known and recognized it, but as you get into once, then a certain focus and concentration occurs that allows you to stay on throughout the night. As the clock approached 04.00, my roommate, Kjeld Renshi-dai, said that now he just wanted to lie down for 5 minutes to rest on the first floor (the brain 🙂 ). Ok, I thought, that sounds like a good idea. Which it probably was for him too. But only approx. 30 seconds when he started sounding like a Finnish sawmill that hadn't been oiled since the Russians left the country in 1945. However, I want to thank him for the noise, because it helped me not to fall asleep.

When the 5 minutes were up, Kjeld Renshi-dai woke up and was ready for another round. But then I myself was ready to have peace of mind. At that time my eyes flickered so strongly that I could see. When it looks like the letters on the computer screen are dancing the Cancan, it's time to close your eyes for a moment. I did that too and I think my eyelids just fell into place when there was a knock on the door. Martin and Brian Renshi-dai were standing outside and wanted to know if we had understood the task in the same way as them. The subsequent conversation is still a blur, but I believe we agreed on how it should be understood.

When they left again at 04.45, I just had to lie down for a while to rest my eyes and head. So I thought a meditation would bring happiness. From now on, I would advise against meditating lying down at that time of day and with the lack of sleep I had, because I don't think there was much meditation on it, but more of a half-bad attempt at sleep. When I woke up again, after approx. 40 minutes, it is at the sound of Kjeld Renshi-Dai, who has thrown himself into a cold bath to stay awake.

For the next 1½ hours we will both finish writing and get ready to throw ourselves over the breakfast buffet. It was just as good as the first time we were at the hotel, although it must be said that the atmosphere was a little higher, which is due to a persistent attempt to tell the group's bachelor how he should behave, for the upcoming date he had later in the day in Copenhagen.

The rest of the day was spent again with work and input that can make us better leaders of our schools and at the same time create leaders for future schools. In the eyes of many, it may seem strange that as a martial artist you have to learn to be a leader. But dear reader, it all fits together like pieces of a puzzle. Only when you have understood the function of all the pieces can you put them together into a clear picture that would like to show yourself as who you are. It is not certain that you thought it was a pretty picture, but once you have recognized it, you can also do something about it. I speak from experience 🙂 .