Creating, preserving and Enhancing the Sacred Space
Years ago, I visited a dojo to participate in a special training class. This was not a Uechi dojo and not someone we were immediately associated with, but it was nice place with nice people. As is my usual, I arrived a bit early and witnessed a junior class in action. The instructors and participants were nice and had great energy. The room had chairs in it for parents to sit and watch, and there were bags on the floor. While this was completely functional, it did counter the energy a little. But - to me - the “kiss” was when I saw one of the instructors take a bite of his salad between drills.
Again, all of this was completely functional. People need to sit. Bags have to go somewhere, and all humans need to eat. However, the flow of the dojo wasn’t completely focused on karate.
The word DOJO literally translates to “Way Place” as in; “Place to learn the way.” For us, it would mean a place to learn the way of Karate. It is a special place where we can all clear our heads from the hectic day’s activities and return home being present for our families. As a side benefit, we learn fantastic skills in how to defend ourselves and our loved ones.
This is a special space – a SACRED SPACE.
Just how does a dojo become a SACRED SPACE? All dojos are built with walls and a roof, but so are houses. We wear special uniforms, but lots of people dress in different manners. Obviously, the answer lies in the practitioners! We all treat it special, so it becomes special!
Like with so many things, it begins with a bow. We bow upon entering the dojo, treating the room in a special manner. We bow when treating the other practitioners with respect and appreciation for “bothering” to work with us. Let’s face it, we are all working on our myriad of challenges, and a partner that is willing to work with us deserves respect and appreciation. We respect our other practitioners’ thoughts, which - for better or worse - may be different to ours.
Through the bow, we also treat ourselves in a special manner when we enter the dojo.
As such we treat the dojo with respect and appreciation. It is a room dedicated to the practitioners’ training and growth. As such we make sure that we act properly while in the SACRED SPACE. This proper attitude helps practitioners who are newer to the environment understand the sacred space and help keep us focused on our growth.
While there are no truly hard-and-fast rules on what is to be done in a dojo and what is not, try to think “less is more.” The talk and physical presence of things like money, food, relationships – all vital functions of life, mind you – can be distracting to our primary focus. The more it is all about Karate, the more it will be treated as all about the Karate.
As instructors, we should constantly look at the dojo without people in it and with people in it, try to look at it with a critical eye and see what can be done to enhance the SACRED SPACE within a dojo.