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| Reflections
on Buliding a Dojo |
| The
circumstances of a martial artists
life are often fluid. I know I
certainly floated around long
enough; going from job to job;
town to town, and always looking
for that right place to drop anchor.
I found it one day fourteen years
ago after an unhappy divorce.
I found the place to build a dojo. |
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wanted to buy a house with enough land to
have a complete dojo complex without interfering
with the process of living. I didn't want
to sacrifice gardens, kennels, archery range,
orchard and sufficient parking for the dojo
itself. I was willing to live in a house that
was smaller and older to accommodate this.
Pure luck led me to the place that became
Shoshin Aikido Dojo. |
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| An
old wooden house on a couple undeveloped acres
became the starting point. It had been built
in 1928 and I got it cheap. (Another divorce)
I settled in, started remodeling, and waited
for a sign. Sure enough a few months later
'The Storm of the Century' hit central Florida
and blew away trees, out buildings, and sheds.
It left a terrible mess. My old friend, Dennis
Hooker, stopped by one afternoon while I was
standing and staring at the destruction. He
quietly walked up behind me and said, "You
know, if you build it, they will come."
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I
said, "That's a line from a movie."
He said, "That doesn't make it untrue."
He was right. |
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| How
to build a dojo, though; I'd never thought
that far. How to finance it? How to build
a square building? Dennis started clearing
debris and I got a long tape and some stakes
and we went to work right then. If we hadn't
started digging and driving stakes and tying
string that afternoon I sometimes wonder if
it would have been built. |
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| A
month later, Mitsugi Saotome Sensei, my long
time Aikido teacher, was holding a seminar
in Orlando. After the Saturday morning class,
while everyone sat in a huge circle making
announcements I was struck by an idea. Somewhat
shy, (maybe a little ashamed to be asking,
or begging) I told the group that I was building
a dojo. I admitted that I was broke and in
need of funds to get it out of the ground
and offered to let anyone train there, always
and for free, for a contribution. I referred
to the U.S. Navy tradition of 'Plank Ownership'. |
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| Aikido
folks aren't always the richest, smartest,
most handsome and talented people around,
but they have hearts limited only by the force
of ki. They gave thousands of dollars, enough
to take the new dojo out of the ground and
get it to a point where classes could commence.
The following year we held the grand opening
and Saotome Sensei performed a Shinto ceremony
that was beautiful. Demonstrations were done
by nine different shihans. |
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| The
students came. From Syria, Israel, Turkey,
South Africa, Canada, Chile, Japan, Viet Nam,
Mexico, Germany and many other countries and
of course, home. Some stayed to work in the
gardens and bamboo groves while earning degrees
at the university. Some came to become teachers
and then left to found their own dojos. Some
came and never left, they are the teachers
and core of the dojo. Through it all, Saotome
Sensei has come each year to see and comment
and support our effort. |
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| Saotome
Sensei lives here in Florida. I visit his
home several times a year for a weekend and
we talk about bamboo, orchids, pottery, music,
and even (once in a while) Aikido. His lovely
wife Patty, who is also a fine Aikido shihan,
is a terrific cook. I look forward to the
meals she prepares for my visit. |
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| It
was during one such visit after
the celebration of his 50th anniversary
in Aikido that I told him of a
moment of satori I had experienced.
It had taken place during the
morning class, when the dojo was
so crowded with celebrants that
here was hardly any place to sit
seiza, let alone train. I could
only see him from the waist up.
He seemed to be floating. Normally
I watch his feet - that is where
the mysteries are revealed, but
that day because of the crowd
I could only watch, as he seemed
to float with his uke around the
demonstration area. |
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| Something
changed then. I realized his connection with
his attacker was different and I saw his movement
in a totally different light. What had changed?
I then realized that the triangulation I was
used to, was really two sided and if you place
two triangles together you get a square -
the base of a pyramid, the strongest of all
structures. I saw him moving within that base
and everything he did suddenly made sense.
It made so much sense I was stunned into near
paralysis. It took two weeks before my world
normalized and I started to analyze what I
had seen. |
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While
relaxing on his back porch I told him about
this and we discussed this new singularity.
He stood and motioned for me to reach out
and grab him. I did so and he moved me the
way a grown man moves a child despite the
fact that I am able to lift him and tuck him
under my arm and carry him around. I am twice
his size. He then stopped and I moved ever
so slightly, but he felt it and his eyes lit
up and he smiled. "Dan-san," he
said, "write a book!"
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| It
became On Mastering Aikido and has helped
some, I believe, see Aikido in a new
light. Saotome Sensei wrote the Foreword
for it. He is a great teacher and after
nearly thirty years I feel a great kindness
and kinship with him. It is something
I remember to apply when dealing with
my own students. |
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| A
teacher must be careful with his students.
I often relate to the process of teaching
the same as I do when throwing a pot
on the wheel. You know, pottery is the
only endeavor I can think of that uses
all the elements - air, fire, earth,
water and spirit (creativity). I am
not a good potter, but my love for it
makes my acoustic bells and chimes sound
like happiness, I believe. And a student
should produce the same result. He should
be happy when class is concluded. Perhaps
content might be a better word, or peaceful.
A student should feel good about what
he is doing and the teacher should inspire
that. All else is up for grabs as I
have a belief that no one can teach
another person anything. All you can
do is provide inspiration and direction.
Public educators probably disagree. |
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| The
thing about Aikido, this kinship, this desire
to understand it, this need to know, to master
and to achieve; I believe that this is part
of the evolution of man. We are dual by nature.
We have buried deep in our brains the fundamental
reptilian consciousness that presided over
existence for millions of years. We also have
the cortex overlying this reptilian brain
and the neo-cortex. We have more memory capacity
than we can ever use and one wonders why?
That all this brain has developed and yet
we only use such a small percentage of it
makes me think that the next evolutionary
stage of our development has only just begun.
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| And
what will that stage be? A greater understanding
of human potential? A profound understanding
of our real place in the universe and the
ability to peacefully resolve our differences?
A better and more complete understanding that
human potential is bound inextricably to the
future of our planet and existence itself?
I believe that mastering Aikido is one of
the most direct paths to this potential development. |
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| It
is still beginning. It is still developing
its potential. It is still in its infancy,
yet if we look to the growth and diversification
that we already are aware of and anticipate
where it could lead we see a decided
trend toward expansion of the idea of
Aikido. Saotome Sensei has helped so
many individuals become shihans in their
own right that it is a truly remarkable
observation that not two of them look
remotely alike in their Aikido.
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| Saotome
Sensei's genius lies in his ability
to bring out the very best in these
individuals without sacrificing their
identities. And as each of these people
develop their own style, Aikido is expanded
exponentially. This is one of the basic
tenets, that each person must develop
his own Aikido, his own way of harmony.
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| I
believe it is the future. Of course,
I may be wrong. But Shoshin Aikido Dojo
and my association with Saotome Sensei
is a testament to the firmness of my
convictions. The path that we must walk
to build a dojo is often perilous and
great teachers want student/teachers
who are capable of carrying the load.
They want students/teachers who don't
shrink from responsibility and are willing
to sign on the dotted line. It's not
for everyone, but the blessings outweigh
the pain. |
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Daniel
Linden is rokudan (Aikikai) and teaches
a regular schedule At Shoshin Aikido
Dojo in Orlando Florida as well as
annual seminars in Germany and elsewhere.
He has trained for over thirty-five
years. He is author of On Mastering
Aikido (available through www.onmasteringaikido.com
or www.amazon.com
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A veteran of the Viet Nam war, Mr.
Linden raises orchids, dogs, bamboo,
citrus, grapes, and flowering ginger.
He is an avid fisherman as well as
a performing musician on mandolin,
violin and guitar.
Website: www.shoshindojo.com/
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by
Daniel Linden
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