As I write this I have been training for over 46 years and teaching for 33 years. The goal of this article is not to upset people who train in Karate in the modern world but rather to get you all to learn to appreciate what you have today because I don’t think many do. I also believe that most who train Karate today are very spoiled and don’t really understand how thankful to their Sensei they should be. It is also not a comparison between the world I grew up training in and the one that exists in the martial arts today. That being said, let’s get into it.
Dojos / Gyms today are luxury compared to what many of us grew up learning in. The first dojo I learned in was a shed, literally. It was a small pole barn, with a dirt floor that had carpet thrown over it. There was very little heat, no air-conditioning at all (except when the door was open during summer) and we didn’t even have a bathroom. Equipment such as heavy bags, shields to hit and other items basically consisted of one kicking shield and some very old boxing mits. My dojos today are a God send over what I had to endure to learn Karate. Over the next few years, I had to switched schools due to my first Sensei moving away and closing his dojo. The next dojo was in a commercial building that was heavily run down, never clean and we had heat but it wasn’t turned on very often unless it was really cold outside. Luckily, this one had a bathroom so we no longer had to run behind the building if we had to go. Over time, while at that school, the instructor would move the dojo several times to more affordable locations but, eventually, we ended up in his garage. Not because he couldn’t afford a building but, rather, because memberships went up and down and you never knew if you were going make rent back in those days. Most people who taught martial arts didn’t know the business side of it back then so they suffered greatly, especially during the summer months when it seemed like everyone skipped out on showing up and paying their tuition.
In 1991, I made a decision to open my own dojo. It was in a small building. We had heat but not a/c and no toilet. Even with that said, this building was like going to the Trump plaza over a Motel 6 compared to what I had trained in. I cleaned it every day because they dojos I trained in never got cleaned and smelled like a locker room after a football game. Eventually I moved it to a bigger building that had a bathroom and heat, but no a/c. The floor was carpeted and the building was decent but very old and out of date. Regardless, it was still much nicer than the first dojo I had. Today, walking into my dojos makes me feel like a billionaire because of how nice they are. Matted flooring, mirrors on the walls, all the equipment we could ever use and we have A/C!! When I think about how spoiled my students are I often chuckle because they have no idea how nice they have it…and, sadly, it shows in how they take care of the dojos too…or take them for granted.
My dojos have coffee machines, fridges with water in them to purchase, are beautifully decorated, clean, painted and just simple loaded with everything one could ever need to train Karate. We have high quality matted flooring and available visitor areas for the parents to watch classes too. It always amazes me how much different the environment I now teach in is compared to what I grew up training in as well as my first few dojos.
I visit a lot of dojos too and many of them are nice places to train like mine these days. It is actually very, very rare to see a dojo in buildings like I grew up in because, well to put it plainly, people wouldn’t join up in them now a days. People who train martial arts these days have no idea how great they have it. They get all these comforts and equipment that we could’ve only wished for back in my early years of training. It also seems that they often take it for granted too. I am always amazed how many students don’t pick up after themselves, waste supplies in the dojo and never really help to keep it clean. When students do help with cleaning, they rush through it just to get it done and leave which is disheartening to the Sensei as well because we end up spending more time cleaning what they missed. Over the years I have held a cleaning day at my dojo each year where all the students are invited to show up and help deep clean the dojo from top to bottom. It really upsets me when only about five to maybe ten students show up on that day.
Taking pride in where one trains also leads directly to learning about respect as I see it. When you want your dojo to look great and smell great (trust me that is not easy to do) then you are learning about respecting other’s things. You also learn to take pride and respect your own things through the process of learning to help keep the dojo you train in looking great. There have been a couple of times where I have lost a student over arguing about why everyone helps clean the dojo after the last class each week. I even had a parent tell me that I should hire a cleaning service because they aren’t “paying” for their kid to clean “my” dojo.
First of, I may own the dojo, but it is all of OUR dojo. Secondly, IF I have to hire a cleaning person to come in you better believe you’d be paying for it because that would mean raising tuition to cover it. Lastly, anyone (as I see it) that can’t humble themselves to pick up a broom or mop and help out doesn’t need to be in my dojo because that means they are self centered and believe they are better than the others who jump at the chance to clean. It really bugs me to no end when I see students rush out of the dojo, never picking up a broom or mop, to help clean. I don’t say anything to them but I definitely notice it and, in all honesty, I remember that when it comes to promote them to the higher ranks…if I allow them to promote at all.
My students often hear me talk about how spoiled they are today. They have no concept what training Karate was once like, back when classes were held in garages, basements, pole barns…pretty much anywhere a Sensei could afford. They don’t realize what it was like to train without heat or a/c, or a toilet. One thing I will say is that, while we didn’t have all these modern comforts, the training was much more serious, more intent and (in my opinion) better in many ways than it is today.
We didn’t have mats to slap out when practicing getting thrown so it was more realistic to what we would face in a real street fight and prepared us for that. The lack of heat meant that you had to move, work hard and actually train once you entered the dojo or you would definitely be freezing. The lack of a/c made us truly understand what it meant to push ourselves beyond our limits on those hot days and NEVER GIVE UP. Without equipment, we used our hands and bodies as the targets and shields making us strong and able to withstand heavy hits that also better prepared us for real fights if we ever got in one. Classes were longer, tougher but also a lot more fun as I remember it. Through the hard work, sweat and struggles we all bonded and grew together, supporting one another. It was simply a much different time (and world) back then.
There are definitely days I miss my first tiny dojo I had but there are also many days that I am very thankful for what I have built for my students these days. The comforts that we have I never take for granted because I never had them growing up in the dojos I trained in. One thing I can truly understand is why they called the days I began learning Karate in the “Blood and guts” days of Karate. You had to put in the work and have the guts to become a black belt. These days, not so much…but it is what it is.
In closing, as a reminder to people training martial arts these days, do not take for granted the training space your Sensei has created for you. Those comfort features you have such as a/c, heat, dressing rooms and more are NOT part of your training but they have made training more bearable. Never take them for granted and every single student in the dojo should always help out their Sensei with the cleaning so he/she doesn’t have to raise rates to cover the cost to hire someone to do it. Black Belt students should also take A LOT of pride in their dojo and always be willing to assist in cleaning, repairing and picking up the dojo. If you are a Black Belt level student who helps to teach on your own nights make sure the dojo is picked up, spotless and ready for the next class every night before you leave for your Sensei and the other students. Quite simply, never take for granted the wonderful training space your Sensei has invested their life savings in, their efforts in and their blood into creating for you. Doing so is one of the biggest disrespectful things a student (regardless of rank) will ever do.
Steven Franz, Shihan
Shorin Ryu Shorinkan
THE DOJO SHORINKAN 