If you’re thinking about starting your own dojo or running your own martial arts classes, the first thing you need to look for is a space in which to run them. There are a number of different options, all with their own pros and cons. I’ve run classes in 6 different locations over my tenure, so I can help you understand your options.

1. Basement/Garage

Pro:

• Low overhead.
• Very convenient.
• Complete control over use of the space.

Con:

• Space is limited.
• You have to purchase your own mats and equipment.
• You have to bring relative strangers into your home.
• Encroaches your own living space.

2. Community Centre/University

Pro:

• Free publicity for your class through their network.
• Little to no start-up costs if mats are not required or already provided.

Con:

• Some pay you by the hour, limiting your profit potential.
• Highly competitive. Can be difficult to get in.
• Lack of control over your space. May not be able to come early or stay late if desired.

3. Martial Arts, Yoga or other Studio Rental

Pro:

• More control over use of the space.
• May not have to buy mats or equipment if already available (martial arts studio).
• More potential for growth.

Con:

• Lack of control over your space. May not be able to come early or stay late if desired.
• If the business goes under, you’re stuck without a place to train.
• May have to set up your mats and put them away before and after each class.

4. Industrial Space

Pro:

• Complete control over use of the space.
• Tends to have more space.
• Lots of room for growth.

Con:

• Higher overhead costs.
• Higher risks for financial loss.
• You have to purchase your own mats and equipment.
• Little to no walk-in traffic. Can be hard to find location.
• May have to deal with noise from neighbours.

4. Retail Space

Pro:

• Complete control over use of the space.
• More room for growth (depending on space).
• More exposure and walk-in traffic.

Con:

• Highest overhead costs.
• Higher risks for financial loss.
• You have to purchase your own mats and equipment.
• Less privacy. People may walk in during classes or stare from windows.

When I started running my own classes outside my original dojo, the first place I taught was in a community centre in Japan. It was highly convenient and very appropriate for the transitory nature of my life there. We sometimes had to share the space with other people, but it was such a huge space that it didn’t really matter.

After I moved to Vancouver, I was fortunate enough to hook up with a Judo dojo that was being run out of an industrial space. The owner was very helpful in getting me started. Unfortunately, he left the country and the dojo closed down leaving me without a space. I did, however, get the mats which came in handy.

For about a month, I taught out of a garage in one of my students’ home. We had 8 mats. It was only enough space for 2 pairs to train, and even then it felt pretty confined. It was tight, but at least we kept it going.

After that, we settled into a yoga/pilates studio. It was very affordable, but limited in space. Plus, we had to set up and tear down the mats after each class.

About 8 months later, I moved into an MMA/boxing gym where I rented the space. We didn’t need our mats (they already had some) so we just stored them under the boxing ring. The lack of privacy was sometimes frustrating though because people sometimes walked through our mat space as they finished class in the other room. They also didn’t always take off their shoes (The horror, the horror…).

While at that gym however, I managed to meet Louis Sargeant, with whom I got along swimmingly. We eventually got together on a lease for an industrial space that had two separate areas on two separate floors for training. I took the upstairs office (room enough for 28 mats) and he took the warehouse. This is my best space yet and we’re still doing quite well. Here’s a pic of my dojo below.

One day, I would like to somehow, some way, buy land and build my own Japanese-style dojo. My vision is to plan a building specifically around my needs, big enough to have a 64-mat training area, men’s and women’s changerooms with showers, a small office for myself, a lounge/viewing area from which the training space can be seen, and a beautiful Zen garden that can be seen from the training area. It’s a beautiful dream that I will realize if the right circumstances allow me to make it happen.

I’d love to hear what kinds of spaces you all train in and their unique advantages and disadvantages.

Tags: dojo space

I’m at the dojo a lot, but sometimes it’s nice to have your own training area in your home so you don’t have to go out to the dojo to work on a bag or do some casual training with a friend. To that end, I set up a basement dojo in my home.

The problem with setting up a home dojo is that you may not have the room to spare to have an area dedicated to training alone. That’s why I set mine up in a way that allows it to double as a playroom by being creative with furniture choices.

Here are some photos of my basement in “playroom mode”:

I used bean bag furniture for seating, including a bean bag sofa and two Sumo omni bean bag chairs, which can be molded into different shapes for sitting or lounging. Bean bag furniture can be easily moved and tossed aside as necessary. I also used the Ikea Klubbo nesting tables, which are easily stowed and moved. B.O.B.’s vanity can come out at will. It’s fun to dress him up and make him novelty item on Rock Band nights, Halloween and various other occasions.

Flexible furniture that is easy to move and stow is the key. I don’t have kids, but I’ve been told that this would also make a great play area for kids. And when you’re up for some training, you just toss all the furniture off to the side and have at it. Here are some photos of my basement in “dojo mode”:

Using a B.O.B. or other free-standing heavy bag makes it easy to move it around as necessary. I also have a few other work-out tools that are easily stowed, including a medicine ball, a kettle bell, a skipping rope, and a few striking pads. To give you a better idea of what the space is like, we have 11 tatami mats set up in our basement.

We love our basement, both for parties and training. It’s the perfect solution for us. It can also be a good option for an instructor who wants to teach but can’t afford to lease a space. Anyone else out there have a basement dojo and have any of their own tricks to share?

Tags: basement dojo

Having taught Jiu-jitsu to hundreds of students over the years, I’ve come to realize how fundamentally important self-belief is in a student’s performance. A student’s level of optimism or pessimism about his or her own abilities plays a major role in their development.

Here are a couple of quotes to get you thinking:

“All that we are is a result of what we have thought.” – Buddha

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way you are right.” – Henry Ford

I’ve dealt with a number of pessimists over the years. They tend to believe that they are in some way at a unique disadvantage over everyone else. They think they could be better in their training if they weren’t so small, so big, so frail, so old, so weak, so lacking in talent, so unfit, etc.

The pessimists with the least self-confidence tend to give up on their training very quickly, thinking that they are so disadvantaged that there’s no point to it. But it’s not necessarily the case that pessimists don’t try in their training. In fact, some pessimists try harder than anyone else on the mats because while they believe strongly in their disadvantages, they train extra hard to make up for it.

To counter their pessimism, they might trick themselves into doing well by working very hard, believing it’s the only way they’ll succeed. And they’re right. Progress comes at a high price for pessimistic students. They work so hard and put themselves under so much pressure that ultimately burn themselves out. The training stops being fun and they end up quitting sooner or later.

Optimists, on the other hand, have strong self-belief. They make the most of their unique bodies and minds, seeing themselves as having unique advantages rather than disadvantages. When they face challenges, they don’t see them as resulting from fundamental problems about themselves. They have faith that most challenges are things they’ll overcome in the moment or over the course of their training. The stronger the belief a student has in their own abilities, the more quickly and effortlessly their progress comes to them.

“I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.” – Winston Churchill

Students best serve themselves by being optimistic about their training. I believe that it is the martial arts teacher’s role to guide students toward a more optimistic approach toward their training. I don’t mean blind optimism here. You can’t just tell students “You can do it!” all the time. Particularly with pessimists, you have to build a case for it. You have to make them believe it and to believe it yourself, so it has to be realistic to both of you. They need to have the positive side of their unique traits emphasized and to be shown how they give them advantages. It also helps for them to hear of the successes of people who share their similar body types.

Teaching a martial art isn’t just about showing people a set of moves and techniques. It’s about teaching self-belief. And that’s why the martial arts can have such a positive impact in people’s lives outside their training. Or so Mr. Miyagi would have us believe ;).

Tags: self-belief

You don’t need a woman who has trained in martial arts for 20 years to tell you that men feel uncomfortable hitting women on the mats. They’ve been taught all their lives that hitting women is wrong, so when they find their way to my mats and are expected to strike a female partner as part of their training, even with the barest amount of contact, they are understandably reluctant. This post covers how to deal with that.

Start Off Slow
If the woman is new to martial arts training, go easy to start with until they are mentally adjusted to receiving contact. This should be done with all beginners, regardless of gender. And if you’re a beginner yourself, the level of speed and contact you use should be very light anyway until you develop a good sense of control. Then as the person progresses (and as you progress) you can increase the level of contact gradually so that the person can start to understand the effects of strikes to different areas and so they can better assist their partners with their targeting.

Don’t Coddle Her
As a woman starts getting more comfortable with contact while training, you should increase the level of contact gradually until you eventually get to a level that is comparable to what others take for the same level. This advice should be applied regardless of gender, but many men never bring up the level of contact with women because they feel uncomfortable hitting a woman with any force at all. While it may be true that you might not be able to hit a smaller woman as hard as a much bigger man, she should still get the benefits of higher intensity training that is scaled appropriately for her size as it becomes appropriate for her level. If she never gets this, she’ll be coddled and won’t become stronger at taking hits. In the worst cases, I’ve seen women with black belts that can’t even handle the barest levels of contact and as result don’t receive the same level of respect as the men of the same rank.

Advice for Women
As a woman who wants to be treated equally, be free with your encouragement to the guys. If you’re comfortable with contact, let your male training partners know that they can hit you and help them find the level of contact that you’re comfortable taking. It’s a lot easier for them to feel comfortable hitting you if you encourage them to do so. Also, if your dojo uses contact strikes to the groin, you should wear a groin protector. It hurts us too, it’s just a different kind of pain, but also men will feel a lot more comfortable hitting you down there if they know there is another layer.

Tags: women

Over the years I’ve dealt with many students who wanted to train at my dojo but already had experience in another style, with mixed results. It can be challenging to switch styles and reprogram your body to a different curriculum. And the more experience you have, the more challenging it can be. As a result, most of them either don’t sign up or don’t last long. That being said, the ones that do usually have a great attitude and bring an excellent training ethic to the mats.

If you are martial artist in this situation, here is a list of guidelines for training in a new style that will help you get the most out of your training without being disrespectful or interrupting the dojo’s class structure.

1. Keep an open mind. Try your best to perform the technique as demonstrated. The new style may have similar techniques or even the same technique with slight differences. While it may be easier to just resort to the method you’ve always used, you’re there to learn the new style, not showcase your old one. Look for the advantages that this new method may present. You may be surprised if you give it an honest chance.

2. Be respectful when questioning differences. Because of your prior experience, you may wonder why things are done differently. While it’s ok to ask technical questions specific to a technique in class to make sure you get it right, but it can be disruptive to question the differences openly during class with regards to your prior training. Even if done politely, it can take more time to explain answers to these questions, which can hold up the class’s training time. As for integrating your new learning with your old, this is something that you do yourself outside of class. If you don’t think a particular techniques fits into your martial arts schema, note that in your head, but don’t bring any special attention to the fact in class.

3. Don’t act like an instructor. If you are an instructor in your old style, you may find it difficult to just be a student on someone else’s mats. But that is what is expected of you, unless you have worked out an arrangement with your new Sensei. Don’t try to help other students as you train with them. You may think you know what you’re doing, but you probably don’t know all the nuances of the new style and there is a good chance that by “helping” you’re disrupting the learning process by imparting information in a way that conflicts with the Sensei’s teachings.

4. Be cautious and considerate when integrating your prior training. Some open-minded Senseis might be willing to let you practice your prior training, generally not during class, but perhaps during open mat time. If you’re going to do so, it’s better to restrict this to solo training or working with advanced students or instructors. Lower level students may be confused by the introduction of different concepts, or they may not be equipped to handle a particular techniques safely.

Some students with prior experience go so far as to keep their prior training under wraps, which I can respect. It doesn’t really work with me because I can usually tell, but I like that they have the attitude of wanting to be treated like any other student. As the old zen saying goes, “If you want to fill your cup, first you must empty it.”

Anyone out there in the blogosphere have any interesting stories of dealing with students with prior training, good or bad?

Tags: cross-training

It’s bound to happen sooner or later in any given dojo at which men and women train together, even more so when they socialize together. Attractions develop and sometimes training relationships can develop into romantic relationships. It’s human nature.

Some dojo owners actively discourage this from happening, even forbid dating within the dojo. They worry that if things go wrong in the relationship, the instructor may lose one or both students. They also worry that their personal relationship may interfere with their training on the mats. And these are a valid concerns. That being said, I really don’t think there is much to be done about it. Even if you ban dating in the dojo, students will just date in secret if they are really interested in each other.

I can only offer the following advice to couples who either start training together or couples whose relationships formed out of their training relationships:

1. Be professional. Think of your training relationship as a work relationship. Don’t treat your romantic partner differently than you would any of your other training partners. I know this can be hard, but it really is for the best.

2. Keep your personal differences off the mats. If you have an argument or disagreement before class that is unresolved, keep it off the mats. If necessary, avoid training with your significant other. If possible, try to resolve things before getting on the mats.

3. Let your instructor do the teaching. In many romantic relationships, there can be a tendency for one person to take the reigns. This often carries into training. They often try to teach and “help” their partner, even though they don’t necessarily know any better about the topic. This can be frustrating for the person on the receiving end. If there is any trouble or question about a technique, ask your instructor for help. It is the best solution for all.

If proper decorum can be maintained on the mats, a personal relationship can be enhanced through the mutual support that a training relationship results in. Happy training, everyone!

Tags: dojo relationships

Students are often eager to help out their training partners with techniques they think he or she may be having trouble with. This is usually motivated by a genuine effort to help out. That being said, sometimes these students who want to help actually interfere with their fellow student’s learning.

Here are some guidelines I offer my students when it comes to helping out their fellow students:

Ask first. Ask your training partner politely if they want your help before giving it. This can be something like, “Can I make a suggestion?” or “Would you like me to help?”. You want to make sure they actually wants your help before offering it. Sometimes a student prefers to work through a technique in his or her own mind because it helps them to retain it better.

Don’t overextend yourself. While you’re still in the early stages of your own development, stick to helping your training partners remember the sequence of a technique (if requested) rather
than trying to teach all the technical details. Sometimes the Sensei is applying a graduated training method chosen specifically for that student’s needs and by showing a different method, and your “help” may interfere with his or her teachings.

Keep chatter to a minimum. Don’t talk at length about the technique you’re working on. By doing so, you rob yourself and your partner of precious training time.

Consult with your Sensei or Sempai. Any time you offer help, it’s a good idea to verify what you showed your fellow student with a Sensei or Sempai the next time they come around to check up on you.

Let your Sensei or Sempai do their job. If the Sensei or Sempai is there attending to you and your partner, don’t interrupt them. It’s fine to ask a question about the technique. But never talk over the instructor when he or she is trying to teach, even if you are just trying to help out. It interferes with the communication process.

Ultimately, it’s great to have dojo at which everyone wants to help each other to achieve their best in their martial arts training (I’m quite proud of my own for this reason), so long as they’re doing it right. Even though we’re all on our own journeys of personal development, an important part of that development is sharing in the experience and taking pride in the overall advancement of the dojo and its students. That’s why teaching is considered to be one of the most important roles of senior students and black belts.

Tags: leadership | teaching

Hakama are the skirt-like pleated pants worn by higher ranking belts (usually instructors) in more traditional Japanese martial arts schools. They are worn by black belts and sometimes brown belts in Aikido and in some more traditional Jiu-jitsu schools. This seemingly innocuous piece of clothing is an identifiable topic in the ongoing debate of tradition vs. practicality.

The hakama were originally worn by the Samurai. The baggy, flowing material served to protect their legs while riding, but it is also generally accepted that they had the side benefit of disguising their stance and footwork from their opponents. The hakama also have symbolic importance, though I imagine that the significance of the pleats was added after the fact and not when the garment was originally conceived. The five front pleats are said to represent Confucian virtues valued by the Samurai:

Jin – Love and Sympathy
Gi – Truth and Justice
Rei – Courtesy
Chi – Wisdom
Shin – Faith

Nowadays, the dojos that still use hakama generally introduced when a student earns their black belt and/or becomes an instructor. And while I can appreciate their symbolism, I find that hakama interfere with instruction, for the some of the same reasons the Samurai wore them. The pants hide the instructor’s hip and leg movements often making it difficult for students to see the subtleties of their technique. Instructors often have to pull their hakama back so students can see. And you can forget about doing any ground work wearing them. Shihan Michael Seamark (in the above photo) had to remove his when teaching the ground grappling portion of his seminar at the recent Jiu-jitsu BC techincal seminar.

In my dojo, instructors wear black pants to represent the hakama. I feel this is sufficient in that it pays homage to the symbolic representation without impeding my teaching. That being said, my old Karate sensei would wear his hakama for belt gradings and important formal events. I wouldn’t mind introducing the hakama in this capacity. They really convey an air of authority, highlighting the importance of the event.

Tags: hakama