I’ve opened a number of dojos over the years. One of the exciting things about opening a new martial arts studio is seeing the time when it is just a construction site and experiencing the magical moment when it becomes a dojo.
Yesterday the painter was working in his coveralls and boots, taking his lunch break in the middle of the room. Today the carpeting is being installed by men who walk callously through the venerated keyhole doorway and don’t know what a dojo is—or that they are helping to build it. But tomorrow—tomorrow we will call it a dojo. Shoes will be shed at the door, we will all bow as we enter, and the tone inside will be focused and respectful.
So what if you’re training in your living room?
I have trained in more than a dozen countries in the world. I have trained in my own home, rented apartments, and hotel rooms. I have trained on roofs, in courtyards, and behind kitchens. Back alleys, dingy basements, and mountain tops.
I have had good classes, and I have had bad classes. But it’s never been the fault of the setting. It’s never been the lack of mats or mirrors that has dictated the quality of my class or my training. It’s the focus and respect that we bring to each class that creates a good experience for us and those around us.
We create a dojo wherever we are when we enter and conduct ourselves with a focus and respect that our training deserves. Approached with the right spirit, your living room is a dojo.
So be sure to arrive early, get warmed up, bow, and pay your proper respects. Welcome to your dojo.
