There came a point where I was given a six month grace period
to either start teaching or leave the dojo.
The condition attached to my continued participation in the
dojo was this.
Not start a school, or start collecting students, but to
start teaching.
Part of it was to give back to the art that gave me everything,
to continue passing forward what had been handed down for the past 800 years,
but also as a way to continue my own budo journey.
People would ask questions, challengers would put me on the
spot, and those under my eyes, I had the responsibility to prepare them for the
challenges outside the dojo so they could be better then me.
The idea that every student should surpass their teacher,
and if they don’t then the teacher failed their obligation.
I learned a few
valuable things during those first five years while the dojo was finding equilibrium,
and maybe those on a similar path can benefit from it.
Be yourself.
There is the art, but there is also the personality of the
teacher.
Some explain everything, other explain nothing.
Some are friendly, other are quiet.
Most are a mix of the four.
However one is a teacher personality wise, stay consistent.
This will retain those that can match and accept such a personality
and remain at the dojo.
Thinking you will *loose* students because personalities don’t
match in incorrect, as they are not your students to loose, all are students of
the art, including yourself.
Remaining consistent to your values and how you present the
art is best for a long term foundation.
Those that can accept you will, those that cannot, you can
help find another dojo that matches better.
A dojo can be big or small.
A dedicated space or a shared space.
But above all else it has to be close to where you live.
As the teacher you of course have to be at every class, and
being able to make it to the dojo seems understated.
When it rains?
When it snows?
When things outside of the dojo get busy?
30 minutes tops from your central location.
The dojo cannot be your source of income, it cannot be you
job.
Naturally there is a divide between a commercial dojo
providing a service and a traditional budo dojo.
The two look the same but they are not.
That’s not to say the dojo won’t cost you money to run, it will
and as a teacher you will have to mange keeping it open, but it can’t be your
source of income because then you will *need* students.
You will look at students as economic units, pursues enrollment
that might not suit the art, stop telling students what they need to hear out
of fear of losing them.
Be prepared for the commitment from day one.
In the writings of budo there are three sacred commitments.
The commitment of parent and children.
The commitment of husband and wife.
The commitment of teacher and student.
If you open a dojo and one single student walks in, you are
now responsible for them as a sacred commitment.
You are responsible for teaching them the principles of life
and death found in budo.
You are responsible to them until they leave the dojo one
way or another, so as a teacher quitting the dojo, closing it down if things
get inconvenient, or stopping your own training are now off the table.
To close a dojo and abandon your students is a spiritual
crime.
Students first, teacher last.
Otherwise don’t hang up that dojo name and open the doors.
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