There are a number of dojo rules and guidelines around.
We have a choice;
1) Create our own.
2) Use the Karate Code currently on our website.
3) Use the Judo Code (Tomiki Sensei was after all a very important Judoka after World War II)
Fair Play be a good sport, encourage equality, don’t stand for bullying.
Respect show good manners to your Coach and each other, always be polite, follow judo (replace with aikido) etiquette in
the dojo – bow when you go into and leave the mat, bow to your Coach at the beginning and
the end of the session, bow to your partner at the start and end of each practice.
Hygiene pay attention to personal cleanliness, keep fingernails short and clean, wear clean clothing,
no footwear on the mat, wear zori off the mat.
Self Discipline work hard, listen to instructions, be punctual, don’t miss lessons.
Friendship be a good friend, welcome newcomers, be helpful and kind.
Please let me know your thoughts. trusting that everyone approaches the dojo in the same frame of mind is like expecting we all put our trousers on the same way. A simple yet well thought out set of rules keeps us all on the path……….whichever path!
“The arts were divided into specific fields based on the type of technique. An old time practitioner of Ninjutsu, the Art of Stealth, thought only of the real life application. He would do anything he had to do in order to win. This was, of course, because they used technique for the purpose of war, and from that point of view you had to be able to cope with a long engagement distance or a short one, you could jump, do anything necessary. But if we move up to the present we don’t think about such realistic applications. Through our training we forge our spirits (kokoro) and bodies, and so doing we concern ourselves with being useful in more peaceful pursuits. This is the modern way of thinking, and it is so precisely because it is not warlike.”
“Here, again, I can point out this problem as an example. If I take a hand, I can twist it this way or I can reverse it this way. There are only these two possibilities, right? But in the classical arts one teacher would call the reverse movement the “Konoha gaeshi” (tree-leaf reverse) while some other teacher might say “kotegaeshi.” Even though the technical content is the same, the name is completely different. On top of it all, they would hide this fact and we end up being unable to understand any of it.”
“The idea that if he cuts me I’ll cut him is a very animal-like way of thinking, isn’t it? But the way of doing it that is the most human, and human with a good conscience, it is the way which controls violence but doesn’t cause injury. I personally think that the fact O-Sensei had opened to him such an enlightenment is a thing of great meaningfulness.”
”Therefore, in viewing our present peaceful society and looking forward to a peaceful future, I think that “sportification” (kyogika), the conversion to competitive sport, is the best way to spread the outstanding points and the benefits of budo to the world.”
The aikido of this association aspires towards a state of ‘mushin-mugamae’ (literally no mind - no posture) and aims to keep our body healthy and improve our personality through training and study of both ‘kata’ (fixed form) and ‘randori’ (free form).
The royal road of Budo-training lies at the training and study of ‘kata’ left by our precursors and the practice oi randori’ as an alternative for real battle, both exercised without any bias.
With the ‘Aikirandoriho’-system invented by Professor Kenji Tomiki we take distance from the self-righteous tendency of only practicing kata. On the other hand, with the training of kata, we overcome the narrow-minded win-ning-is-everything mentality when only practicing randori. By adding a more theoretical aspect of learning we come closer to the ideal state.
By learning we mean not only the abundant concepts included in the study of the art of aikido, but also the foundations of personality, being the study of classical canon of east and west and the forming of a scientific mind. In this international society where many racial and religious disputes occur, we need good Japanese people who through Budo can contribute in realizing world peace. The aspirations of a healthy body, broad cultural knowledge and improvement of personality by practitioners of aikido can be the foundations that contribute to world peace.
The supreme state of Japanese budo is characterized physically by ‘mugamae’ or no posture, and mentally by ‘mushin’ or no mind. ‘Mugamae’ is a posture without posturing, ‘mushin’ is a transcendental state of mind. Or should we say that the first is rather aimed for after training the idea of basic posture, and the latter rather a slight awareness of things we hold on to? In each case they are not easily achieved. But they serve a conceptual purpose.
The aim of this association is the upbringing of capable aikido loving people who prove useful in Japan and outside, through the spread of the aforementioned aikido.
