dojo

In the early fifties there was a terrific Japanese judo sensei who dedicated his life to the art of the gentle way. slight in build, he would easily take on students much bigger and stronger than him. If my failing memory serves me correctly, he was named Abe sensei. Regardless, the name isn’t important, the story is. As a lone immigrant, he had a thriving school in Europe’s oldest established dojo, in London. He was tremendously invested in his students and was renowned for emphasizing the minute details of his art, dedicating countless hours to refining subtle movements, whilst concurrently perfecting his student’s character. He was a true man of the arts, and beyond the strict adherence to his process, he was a gentle spirit, at heart.

When judo became an Olympic sport in the early sixties, that, became the focus of most Judo schools. No longer was there an interest or incentive to train countless hours to refine, perfect, and create beauty. Dedicating years to subtle movements and character refinement when an athlete had only a few years in their newfound Olympic career, was anti productive at best. Weight classes were established, and soon the strongest student who could muscle a big throw, would prevail. Gone were the days when people would want to learn how Abe sensei’s feather like sweeps would send a guy twice his size into the air, or a how an imperceptible movement would unbalance an unsuspecting opponent, let alone the lessons of dignity in humility, service, and humanity that was gleaned from the roots of his training. From refined perfection and beauty, everything became big, overt, muscled, and dare I say, ugly. An effective, spiritual art had been lost to the material pursuits of sport medals and accolades. Over the years, as Abe sensei’s students abandoned him to the glitter that they thought would be gold and flocked to schools promoting tournaments and trophies…Abe found himself alone. So alone that in fact, that they discovered him in the corner of his dojo, slumped in his chair with two platsic bags over his head, tied to his neck.

This cautionary tale was recounted to me by my sensei, who happened to train at that London dojo, and his message to me was clear. Essentially, he was telling me that I had two choices…in reality I always only had one, but sensei had a knack for giving you choices and simultaneously emphasizing the right “choice”. As he liked to quip, and he had such a subtle penchant for words and irony…he’d say with a mischievous smile…” the ONLY choice you have…”, highlighting the idea that it’s not a “choice” when it is “only”…anyways, I digress…

Either you run a commercial dojo where you make concessions to retain and appease the paying clientele by diluting and cutting corners, or additionally, you incentivize revenue by creating new avenues of income streams, thereby shifting the original intended path and objective of what you are teaching, to accommodate the new revenue stream… or you stand on principle, like Abe sensei, and keep to the intent and goals of your art and predecessors.

As I look at today’s karate landscape, I see many terrific karate instructors with amazing technique and baffling athletic ability. They use the latest in sports science and psychology to enhance their students’ performance, but unbeknownst to them, like judo, their achievements are misplaced and have turned a lifelong spiritual pursuit into a kid friendly sport, akin to AYSO. The Spartan dojo that half a century ago housed tough minded adults, whose cruder techniques proved much more effective and deadlier than their sporty descendants by sheer will power, is now replaced with Disney themed kids classes, where for few extra bucks you can host a birthday party or sleepover. It’s a real shame, and an eye opening insight into our values and mindset. Again, the saddest part is that we have become so engrained on this material path, that we no longer recognize our misguidance, and our origins. It is like the modern Christians who wholeheartedly believe they are Christians, but they have adopted Paul’s interpretations and are the farthest from Jesus’s original teachings and path. God help and guide us all.