The Traditional Martial Arts Dojo

People love to modernize everything. It truly is the American way. In most cases it is a great idea. In martial arts however, it is not. Most martial art schools today have become nothing more than health clubs and day care centers. Discipline is not stressed. In fact it hardly exists in today's modern school. School owners are worried about retaining the student because they need the student to pay the rent. This is where the problem lies. The teacher should not need the student, the student should need the teacher. In many cases the teacher is actually afraid of offending the student. God forbid.

Discipline is perhaps the most important part of the training. Bowing is key. In a traditional Japanese dojo there is a lot of bowing. It is done as an act of mindfulness and as an act of respect. The first thing the student learns is how to bow properly. Bowing to the teacher, bowing on and off the tatami mat, bowing to one another, etc. The student then learns how to carry himself while in the dojo. It is not social hour. The student should act as he would in a place of worship. There should be no talking unless spoken to by the teacher or assistant teacher. The dojo etiquette and rules in a traditional school are modeled after feudal military traditions. We need this today more than ever.

The traditional dojo has so much to offer other than fighting. If you remove the discipline, then all you have is a bunch of monkeys jumping around yelling and screaming. Finding a traditional dojo today will be difficult but it is worth the effort even if you have to travel. Do not just settle on anything.

Ted Hanulak is the head instructor of the Japanese martial art of Senso-Ryu Aikijutsu. He teaches Aikijutsu and Zen meditation out of the Aikijutsu Academy of Indianapolis http://www.aiki-jutsu.com

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Aikijutsu Academy of Indianapolis