Shugyo – Pick Bigger Weights, You’ll Puke Faster

“Pick bigger weights, you’ll puke faster.”

– Clint Overland

This quote, from a friend in an e-mail, made me think of a training concept called shugyo in Japanese.  It can be translated in several ways, and in simplest terms means a method by which one approaches a practice of self-development. Shugyo is a personal process of refining oneself.  This takes dedication and discipline, two important concepts to living with the warrior’s edge.  Most often shugyo training is some of of physical training.  Through intense physical training we not only train our bodies but our minds and spirits too.  This is a section on shugyo that I wrote in my book, Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks, originally published by Paladin Press.  The new revised and expanded edition will be released this year.

PUT SHUGYO INTO YOUR TRAINING

The samurai had a very rigorous and severe training regimen called shugyo, often translated as “austere training.” It is the act of driving yourself past the levels of endurance you previously thought possible.  It can be done in many different ways. Anything that takes you to the limits of your physical and emotional capabilities can be used as shugyo training. From my understanding, the word means deep mind-body training. It is the mindset that accompanies the training that is important. The purpose of such training is to forge the spirit through hard physical and mental training. The development of mental discipline through the rigors of hard training is more important than the physical prowess that also results from the intense physical exercise.

We used to do this long before I learned the Japanese word for it. Warriors of all types throughout the ages have engaged in tests to find their limits. Do you know yours? You never will until you test yourself. And you’ll find that with determination and guts, you can go longer and farther than you ever imagined. We used to call it a “gut” check. We’d say, “It’s mind over matter: you don’t mind, it don’t matter.” The Army gave us chances to do this with the extended road marches, competitions, and other training missions. It is imperative to experience hardships in training before facing them for real.  Difficult military training prepares soldiers for war. It is true that the more you sweat in training the less you’ll bleed in battle. If you told many people to go hike 30 miles over a steep mountain, they would say, “I could never do that.”  Well, I’ve done it and I know I could do it again if necessary.

I remember Greg entering a marathon one time: “It’s a mind thing, just to do it.” It was the same reason I stayed up for 73 straight hours without any stimulants besides some coffee (and not very much of that). I did it just to do it and see what it was like and how far I could go. Those are the things you need to do once in a while to see where your limits are. Only by finding these limits will you be able to train so that you can surpass them.

Don’t go out and injure yourself. Greg was in shape when he entered the marathon. If you’re in bad shape, you could go out and put yourself in the hospital with a heart attack. Push yourself to your limits and beyond, but do it intelligently. Only you can determine where these limits are and how far past them you want to go.

This kind of training thrown in every once in a while will build your confidence and increase your determination. That willingness to keep going. The ability to get back on your feet when your body is yelling, “Stay down, stay down!” is critical for surviving when things get serious. Sheer guts and determination have saved many a person in life-and-death situations.