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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Vol 35 no. 7. 19 April 1972

Snebgrebling's Sport

page 15

Snebgrebling's Sport

Snebgrebling's Sport

Snebgrebling's Sport

Tramping

Yes, Creamo's, The Tramping Club, held their own Easter Tournament with such activities as eating, skin diving, body surfing, drinking, car rallying, sleeping Competitions, fishing, horse riding (almost) and tramping (almost) and piking (foremost). Results of Tournament were as follows:
  • Abbreviations: Kaimanawa trip (KT) Raukumara trip (PA)
  • Raukumara trip (PA). Tararua S-K trip (S-K).
    a.Tramping, 1st Kt 2nd S-K 3rd PA
    b.Eating 1st PA 2nd 3rd
    c.Skindiving 1st PA 2nd 3rd
    d.Bodysurfing 1st PA Last equal S-K, and KT.
    e.Drinking 1st Pa 2nd S-K Last KT
    f.Car Rallying 1st PA 2nd S-K. KT disqualified for changing cars.
    h.Fishing 1st PA (1 trout, 3 strikes).
    i.Horse Riding (almost) 1st PA almost.
    j.Piking 1st PA 2nd PA 3rd S-K.

Above results show that team PA would have done better by belonging to some other club as the tramping club does not appear to offer the competition of the calibre that team PA (Pikers Anonymous) require. Our 51st Chief Sucker is Captain Rhino Wright, not infrequently known as Andy. The freshers trip was held in 1st week of the term and was a dismally, bitter success with bad weather preventing a Raumahanga river crossing. Other activities have included hut bash's, ligament bash's and ear bash's.

The Tramping Club also caters for trampers for which a number of activities have been planned including rock climbing instruction, alpine instruction and trails alpine and tramping happenings in May holidays and even after the holidays. We also hold regular meetings where various films, slides and speakers occur. These club evenings are also open to any other peasants not belonging to the club. Any inquiries? Give Captain Rhino the gen Ph 757169

Photo of a tramper sitting next to a hot pool

Soccer

The club got away to a dismal start for the new season. The first team lost and the only two other club teams which played were both heavily defeated.

The club's first team went down by 4 goals to 1 against Seatoun at Seatoun Park, Varsity started well and was on top for the first ten minutes. Gradually however, Seatoun began to take control, and after 30 minutes opened the scoring with a very good goal. Seatoun continued to dominate the play and scored two further goals in the first half. A minute before half-time, during one of its rare attacks, Nick Koenig reduced the [unclear: arreas] for Varsity with a well taken goal. Seatoun continued to do most of the attacking in the opening minutes of the second half, and went further ahead with their fourth goal scored after ten minutes. Play was even during the remainder of the game Both sides had several good scoring chances but failed to capitalize on them, and the final whistle sounded with no further additions to the score.

The second team was soundly thrashed 9-0 by Naenae. This team was affected by the late ground transfer, and the team which played was well below normal strength. The Fourth Division team was hammered to the tune of 10 goals to 2 by Stop Out. Sari Patel and John Reeve scored for University The Third Division, Section C, the Sixth Division and the Seventh Division teams all had their games cancelled.

Karate — why do it

Every Karate-ka must stop every now and again and ask himself "What am I doing here?" Perhaps he is about to partake in a middle of the winter beach session. The water looks cold, the icy wind cuts through him, the frozen fingers and toes, press ups, hard physical exercise. Surely any normal, sane person would be indoors, over a heater reading a book.

It seems to me that such a question requires honest answers. By its very nature any person who continues Karate for any length of time, must have something within him which drives him on. Karate is hard bruising and if done properly, exhausting. It is self competing and very repetitive.

Ask a Karate-ka why he does Karate and the usual answers are to keep fit and for self defence. If he has been training for up to six months then these answers will suffice. If he has been training for eighteen months or more then I suggest that these answers are inadequate, and superficial. (The grey area of course being between 6 months and eighteen months of training). I must say at this stage that such a question put by an instructor to his class is stupid, unreasonable and a complete waste of everybody's time. Nobody wishes to pour out personal problems or to open up his soul to the sempei, let alone the rest of the class. Its none of his business anyway.

I will now consider some of the possible motivations that might addict a man with Karate, making it his way of life.

a.Self Defence - Nobody likes to be physically assaulted by strangers. Such an experience may prove humiliating or physically damaging. The experienced Karate-ka is more at ease in strange places among strange faces.
b.Physical Fitness - There can be no question of the great value of Karate in this regard. It is a tremendous body conditioner. Muscles are stretched, and hardened. Body and mind integrate ie. coordination improves. At the end of a session if you are not sweating profusely, then you have yet to grasp the true spirit.
c.Confidence and inferiority complexes - the ability to act like an individual be independent, self reliant. Karate I believe to be invaluable in this area. In this dog eat dog world, confidence is a great thing to aquire. Karate may make one feel that he has an advantage over his fellows One instructor confessed of his sleepless night several years ago, for fear of best man duties on the morrow. The same person I now consider to be a competent, amusing interesting speaker. An inferiority complex is a little different from a lack of confidence. Karate may help a person to over come this problem or to live with it and may even give rise to the opposite problem - the arrogant, better than God mannerisms. I think it likely that these characteristics have contributed to the fragmentation of national and international karate.
d.Ambition, hero worship and power Perhaps the serious student of karate is driven on by the ambition to be in a position of power - being able to order people and expecting them to obey without questions, for that is part of karate's neccessary discipline. The harder one works at it and the longer one stays then the chances of promotion are excellent, for there is always room at the top for one more. People enjoy the admiration of others and the good experienced Karate-ka is well placed in this respect. The majority of these classes are always low grades or starryeyed beginners wondering if they too will one day be able to give head high mwashi-geris or smash through a brick.
e.Mental stability - Does Karate save some from becoming patients in mental institutions? I have heard at least one black-belt remark that it is a form of psychiatric treatment. At the start of a session there is a brief period of meditation. It is here that one must break off from the rest of the world and prepare for total concentration on Karate techniques. - One must forget his broken down car, nagging wife, money problems, study problems, thus Karate is a form of escapism, possibly saving some from having a nervous breakdown, while certainly relieving all of a certain amount of mental stress. A terrific amount of hate and tension can flow out of the body in a session. Joe Cocker is known to have said- "If I didn't take up singing then I'm sure I would've killed by now. People can only take so much. There has to be a release or Boom!" Could it be that some Karate kas are sadistic, would be street brawlers, aware of their problem, of having to rid themselves of natural aggressiveness or at least having to prepare themselves for the possible consequences of these characteristics?

Much of what I have said could be applied to many sports and other areas of human activity. - Karate does not stand alone. My indirect intention has been to point out some of the great benefits of Karate, both mental and physical.

Wayne Ashton.