Emily's Adventure

Getting involved on campus is a great way to make friends and try new things that are not normally done in a student’s day to day routine.  For my “Choose Your Own Adventure” project, I chose to participate in Broomball.  Broomball is an intramural sport that is played on the ice rink at the University of New Hampshire.  Our team consisted of players from the 5^th floor of Serc B.   This was a great way to get to know the people on my floor in a new light.  Although we did not win a single game, we still had fun.

Broomball is definitely considered an adventure.  There are many risks when playing this sport.  Falling on the ice is one of them.  Players do not have padding.  I saw many competitors fall on the ice.  Its very hard to run on the surface without loosing balance.  All players must wear helmets.  Another risk is that players could knocked down by other players or hit by the brooms.  I learned that this is a game that can not be played if their is no communication between teammates.  We also had to learn to be aware of our surroundings.  We had to know when and who to pass the puck to.  It got frustrating sometimes when our opponents would always take the ball when we were trying to pass it.   I learned a lot about my teammates.  All of us worked hard and never gave up.  Determination was a huge factor in how we played the game.  We only scored one goal the whole season, and that was a very proud moment.  We all felt like a team every time we walked off the rink with our heads held high even though we didn't win.  I learned that I am not as bad of a Broomball player than i thought i was going to be.  I came very close to assisting someone make a goal.  I learned that a single person can not play the game of Broomball.  The puck needs to be passed.  

I will definitely be playing Broomball next year.  It was a great way  to bond with other people on my floor.  I had a lot of fun and i can't wait for next season.  Next year, my goal is to at least make it into the playoffs.  I learned a lot about my teammates and i was surprised of how well we all worked together. Broomball Link

Ruby's Choose Your Own Adventure

            During the beginning of this year I decided to try novice Crew for my “choose your own adventure” assignment. Crew was a sport that I have always wanted to try and I thought that this was a perfect opportunity. After the first couple of practices, which were very intense, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue doing it. However, my family and friends pushed me to stick with it and continue. I started out rowing but quickly became a coxswain. I really enjoyed being a coxswain, it brought more of a mental aspect to the sport and it was a really good way to learn about it. When I signed up for Crew I thought that I would be only rowing; I didn’t think that I would like being in charge of an entire boat that I knew nothing about except that it would be really expensive to repair if we hit something. However, I really enjoyed it even though I had to be awake before 6 a.m. almost everyday. I liked the intensity of the sport and the way other people had some sort of respect for you. The only reason I stopped doing Crew was because I was quickly becoming burnt out between school, work and the early practices. If Crew wasn’t so early in the morning I would have definitely kept doing it. I am really glad that I tried it because I discovered a sport that I really liked and would definitely do again if given the chance.

            Crew was an adventure for me in multiple respects, the first being that I had never tried it before and I consider trying something new to be an adventure. I also think that it’s an adventure because it challenged me to go past my limits and attempt things that I never thought I would be able to do. I really enjoyed Crew and I learned that I could do a lot more than I originally thought I would be able to. I also learned that when given the chance to try something new I should take it because you never know how much you are going to like it. I really enjoyed my chance to do Crew and I might actually try it again next year.

Woodsman's Club

I had seen this club on the UNH website, so i decided to try it out. The Woodsman's Club is where students go to practice certain lumberjack-related tasks, and eventually compete in competitions. The competitions are similar to Track & Field meets, where the entire team goes to a designated area, and each student does their best to beat the opponents in their designated event. At these competitions, many events are going on at once, so these gatherings require a very large field and many competitors. You can read all about it here http://www.unh.edu/woodsmenteam/

There are quite a few events, such as axe throwing, underhand and verticle chop and the pole climb. The rest seem, to me, quite uninteresting. A few of these are the pulp toss (you throw a stick between two other sticks), the log roll (speaks for itself), and canoeing (also speaks for itself).

I was very excited for the first practice. I went for the fifteen minute bike ride off campus to the saw mill, dumped my bike and asked the first person I found what I should do, which was a big guy standing by his pickup truck. He said "talk to Chris". Not too friendly. I eventually found Chris, and he just handed me a few papers to fill out. As I was filling them out, everyone seemed to know each other pretty well and knew exactly what they were supposed to do. The majority of them were milling about, getting equipment ready and whatnot and a few were already practicing events. One man who looked like an instructor was standing in a circle of students giving them instructions. I started over but Chris stopped me. He brought me to a secluded area of the Saw Mill where there were doubleheaded axes jammed into an old stump, and targets up on stilts. He gave me an axe, pointed at the targets, told me to throw and left. I thought that was a little strange, give an inexperienced boy an axe and telling him to throw while being unsupervised was a little irresponsible. I threw until my arms got tired, took a break and threw some more. Chris came over to see how I was doing. I had been doing alright, but as soon as I'm being watched, of course I mess up. He told me to keep throwing. This kept up until the end of practice, when everyone put all the gear away and I stood by awkwardly.

The second and third practices weren't much better. When I asked if I could try some chopping or pole climbing he just told me to keep throwing. I was starting to see a pattern here. I would probably have to be in the club for a long time before I got to try some more interesting events, and I had no patience for that. My third practice was my last one.

I don't in any way consider this club an adventure. Except for the first bike ride over, because I wasn't very sure about where I was going and got nervous after biking for fifteen minutes and not seeing the saw mill. The only risk I took was throwing the axe, but after the first throw I realized I could probably manage to not chop my hand off. No critical thinking was involved, nothing was really thrilling or exciting, not much reward was included, and nothing was mysterious or uncertain about it. I'm sure that determination would have kept me there longer, which would have built up some skill and eventually gotten me some excitement or reward, but throwing and retrieving for three hours straight, three separate days, couldn't be any less invigorating.

I feel as though I learned next to nothing about myself, others, or the sport of being a lumberjack. I feel as though this club would be fun for those who have already been in it for a few years, because they seem like a tight knit family who don't especially enjoy seeing new faces. I honestly wish that the instructors could have made it more exciting for a newcomer, because I would actually enjoy some of the more exciting events. But, with such an unwelcoming group of people it didn't take me long to realize it wouldn't get much better any time soon.

Even after the first day I was still willing to go back again and see if it would get better, and on the third day I was starting to get consisten bulls-eyes with the axe, but with unenthusiastic instructors and unfriendly students, I decided it was best to try something new... on to chess club.

I don't have a camera so I couldn't take any pictures, sorry.

the NHOC

As a girl from the suburbs of New York City, I had never really experienced the outdoors as is accessible here. The idea of being able to wander in the woods, to truly get lost, was never something that crossed my mind at home. No matter how deep into the woods that you thought you got, about a hour of bushwhacking would always bring you out. Regardless, I loved the outdoors, in the small capacity that I was able to experience it.

As a result of this desire, I joined the New Hampshire Outing Club. Prior to beginning my freshman year here, I spent a week out in the White Mountains with two leaders and five other freshmen. THAT was most certainly an adventure.
This is the view from a clearing about 100 yards from our first campsite. The trip had risk (hiking in remote areas), was a break from social norms (who chooses to walk for miles at a time, with no real destination, in the rain, for six days?), and was adrenaline-inducing (wet, exposed rocks and a steep incline most certainly got my adrenaline pumping). This trip, by itself, qualifies as an adventure.View from about halfway up Carter Dome
I think this was on top of one of the Carters.
The sunset on our last night in the Whites.

Since then, I've been on two hiking trips, an apple-picking trip, leadership training, and two work trips with the NHOC. Being a part of the Outing Club has helped me survive school. When the stress seems to get to be too much to bear, there's always a weekend in the woods awaiting you, to take you away from it, if for just a bit. You definitely learn determination and patience from hiking. Determination, when it seems as if you'll never stop gaining elevation and patience, because hiking is never the most time-efficient way to get anywhere.

As long as I'm able to, I will continue to hike. I hope to take a winter mountaineering course soon, to help expand my skill set. I would love to have the opportunity and the resources to hike the entire AT, at some point in my life.

The summit of Lafayette.

Kokikai Aikido

There are numerous types of martial arts, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Each with their own style and practicality. Taking up a martial art had been a dream of mine ever since I was young, and it was not until the beginning of college that the chance to take up such an art. My martial art of choice was Kokikai Aikido, or the "gentle martial art."

The art of Aikido dates back to when other martial arts such as Tae Kwon Do, and Shotokan Karate were created. The specific branch of Kokikai Aikido was created in the late nineteenth century by Shuji Maruyama Sensei, one of the greatest students Shudo Maruyama Sensei, the original founder of Aikido, ever had.

Kokikai Aikido is a defense specialized martial art. Kokikai Aikido uses a series of throws and pins to redirect the attacker so that he is thrown away or controller. This is a big contrast to the hard martial arts based on kicks and punches. There is no anger, aggression, or viciousness in Aikido. The basic principles include timing, posture, relaxation, and keeping focus on their "one point." The idea of Aikido is using body physics and momentum to effortlessly throw their opponent.

Kokikai Aikido is an adventure for me because it is a step outside from my typical math and science curriculum. It does possess some physical risk, and at times mental when you cannot properly execute a technique. It is a test of my skill, and my ability to critically assess a technique while being completely independent. I have to think on my own to get the attacker away from me in order to be ready for the next. It is thrilling to step into a different culture and examine their etiquette. It is a type of sensation that I adore, but did not know until recently. I feel accomplished after performing well after a solid practice. It is my desire to attend every practice, learning as much as possible to better myself. I experience both types of fun when practicing Aikido. Sadly, picture and video are prohibited when at Sensei's camp, and it is difficult to be a photographer and practice Aikido at the same time.

Kokikai Aikido has allowed me to stay more relaxed and focused outside of practice as well as inside. It is something I have grown an interest for. Principles found within the art have helped me improve myself as an individual. In a sense, Aikido has helped me survive college. I look forward to all three practices a week, and will continue to do so as long as it can fit my schedule. I plan on going for my orange belt test in December, and hopefully continue to rise through the ranks as my college career continues. Plus, facing five people in a freestyle for the black belt test is absolutely astonishing.

"Minimum Effort for Maximum Efficiency" (Shuji Maruyama Sensei 1955).

UNH Kokikai Aikido Club Handbook. UNH. 2007.

-Ryan Huard