By Agnes Schwartz, Member until 2015

As always and at the risk of repeating myself 🙂 – then:

The course was carefully planned by Kimu Sensei and further conveyed by 2 well-trained chief instructors, Søren Renshi and Martin Renshi-dai. But that is a matter of course in Shindenkan – always 100 % engaged and determined that now you are present.

Just having the attitude and being present, went again with us participants.

After all, we should have included the setting from both TF 1 & 2 and being present is probably the same as the setting.

But in TF 3, being present is the same as not being there when the attack comes, so setting again.

And it's not rocket science, as some chief instructors like to say.

But that's it, for me, especially when you're up to your neck in it.

I didn't have my attitude with me for this course, at least not the right one and I had left my psyche at home. From the start, I didn't want to be there. I was nervous about what it was. That is i was aware that it was a bit closer and more techniques than in TF 1 & 2.

Before we went to the dojo, we talked a lot about the "train" and how we dealt with an encounter with it.

We had some options viz. choice.

• we could choose not to be there
• we could move
• we could try to run from it.

The leap in level from TF 2 to TF 3 is huge, huge! I could easily imagine a TF 2½.

My comfort zones were clearly exceeded, my self-esteem dropped below zero and then it hurt to be hit. Both physically and mentally.

It turned out that I only had escape in mind when we were training, even though I knew very well that you have to run quite fast to avoid the train. It also resulted in an uppercut and a sprained foot. I kept running backwards. I thought if I let my opponents hit me a few times, maybe I could get in on them and hit them.

I should have just moved!

It's just really hard when you're hit. I was hit and fell straight into the role of victim.

I also let my opponents take over the fight. It was on their terms that they fought.

After the course I thought a lot about my way of dealing with the events. Should I choose bridge instead of karate. I didn't / didn't want to be so scared again. In other words, escape rather than moving and with the possibility of gaining some self-determination J

Now I had bought and paid for ShindenFight 1, which is 6 sub-courses that run over a few months. So before I replaced karate with bridge, I just had to finish SF. Fortunately!

ShindenFight 1, is Task Fighting 3 for connoisseurs. Things were reviewed again and subtleties were given, so that things were more under control.

Actually, there aren't that many things in it. THANKS – MY – CT and yet so difficult. It is not enough that we know the theory, we also have to practice the principles in practice and we do not do that.

I have spoken to a few male colleagues and they told me that they also had some they were not particularly happy to "meet" in battle.

There we have the setting again. So, it's not me who can't do karate, but my attitude. I was afraid to meet all my male colleagues, while my male colleagues were only afraid of some. So they had a bigger profit than I did.

It told me that it was just people with an attitude that could be shaken.

Interesting, I can turn that into an advantage.

Now you cannot go through life without being affected both physically and psychologically, but it is your attitude that determines how much it will hurt.