From the files of Bushido Karate Dojo - Honbu

 Typical Karate Training

Hold onto your Obi (belt); we are about to go back in Dojo(training hall) history to a time when training was training. A student would be interviewed before training. We were selective in our membership. Then the student was invited to join the class. Hopefully, their first night was a night the ambulances were not present. The new student was given a white Gi (white uniform) and a rope as their first belt.

 The Dojo opened at 6 pm nightly. It seemed that although class did not formally begin until 7 pm, everyone was on the floor by 6:15 pm. Tardiness was never a problem. Nobody ever wore their Gi to class. Students fought to see who would sweep the floor before class bowed in. After the bow, a strong 45 minutes of exercise followed. Hundreds of pushup, hundreds of sit-ups, and that was just the warm-up period. Ki-ai (developing the ability to take a strike) practice, endless Makiwara (striking post)training, pressure point massaging, full power blocking practice, and stretching were all part of the warm-up. From the time class began until it was over, a student was permitted to rest while doing sit-ups or standing in horse stance. We built strong bodies.

 Next was the endless Kihon (basic technique) practice with driving drills. Up and down, up and down, and again until there were trails of sweat on the floor. All under the watchful eyes of the Sensei (instructor).

 By this time, everyone was ready for Kata (pre-arranged form) practice. The Dojo has a special place in its heart for Kata, as no move escaped the Sensei's eyes. We checked and rechecked everything. The only word heard was “Next.” And that word was used a lot. Kata was followed by Kumite (sparring). There was no command like, put on your gear. There was contact, controlled but contact. Injuries did occur, and EMS did respond. Everyone fought.

 Sometimes we would change things up a bit; rather than end the night with sparring, we would roll out the mats and practice Judo techniques or self-defense training (remember – man throws a punch) or train in Kobudo (weapons). 

 Classes were three hours minimum. Sometimes we would train at midnight until sunrise or train for the entire weekend. Every class ended with an outside one-mile run, regardless of the weather. That is a run in Gi, no shoes and in the rain or snow or heat. If this were not enough, if I was in a talkative mood or we had a special topic to discuss, everyone would sit in Seiza (formal sitting position) as they listened. Sitting like this for over an hour was the norm. Of course, the floor was wood or, in some of the buildings we training, cement.

 The concept of 45-minute classes with no exercises is not martial arts training. Many students also trained at home between classes. Belt tests were few and far between and very private with just the student and instructors present. This was not a black belt club, and although everyone trained to be one, not many made it to the level of Shodan (first-degree black belt). The quickest any student earned a Shodan was five years of almost daily training.

 This type of training has become a lost art. It has been replaced with student contracts, parental interruptions, no contact training, made-up forms, and reduced tag game.

 How many Dojo requires reading of martial arts books. Moving Zen, The Karate Dojo, Weaponless Warrior, and Zen in the Martial Arts, the Dojo has over 400 books that most students have read.

 Training is not just teaching and perfecting blocks, strikes, punches, kicks; it is the perfection of character. That comes from hard discipline and focused training.