The Path, The Way
Expectations of all suibukan students
Do / dao. The way, the path.
A dojo is a place for individuals to come together and discover their own paths. It is less about the belts, certificates or trophies and more about continued self-discovery. It has to be continuously physically practiced to truly be understood and appreciated. The process is what yields the results: showing up, being genuine, putting in effort; trying, failing, trying again, constantly learning. It is not an easy trip but the journey down the path is more than worthwhile.
Keep these things in mind when you come to our dojo:
Practice etiquette. Dojos have a wide breadth of personal experiences and lifestyles, and everyone is here for the same reason: training. Etiquette reminds us that we are important, but so is everyone else.
Make training a habit. The benefits of martial arts come from constant training; physical, mental and emotional. You will understand when training becomes like brushing your teeth.
Accept the challenge. You will be physically challenged, daily; mentally challenged, often; and at times emotionally challenged. Martial arts training is about you learning to overcome those challenges. You will fail at times, as do we all, but the failure is not the point: the overcoming of it is.
It’s you against you. Sometimes we must tell our brains and bodies they are wrong. There will always be reasons to not make it in for training. The days you don’t want to train will be the most rewarding because you overcame the excuses and found reasons to be here.
Also, it’s you against you. While others in the dojo help us progress, it is not about making yourself better than them: it’s about making your today self better than your yesterday self. The only real competition is you sparring against you.
Appreciate the long game. “Karate cannot be quickly learned. Like a slow moving bull, it eventually travels a thousand miles. If one trains diligently every day, then in three or four years one will come to understand karate.” Anko Itosu - one of the “fathers” of modern karate
Do it for the right reasons. There are guidelines for what a given color belt should be able to demonstrate on the floor. That is simply to help one follow the beginnings of the path: don’t focus on it. When your goal is to just be better than yesterday, that goal is always within reach and will never be a hollow victory. If you walk a path and focus on the road as you travel, you’ll never experience or understand the benefits of walking up that path.
