Ishi Do: The Way Of The Couch

Many years ago in another land, in a wonderful dojo, with great people, I studied Ju Jitsu with a wise old professor. I was there several years and achieved the rank of Sankyu. I was forced to quit Ju Jitsu to finish college, a trade off completely necessary, and well worth it. But during the Ju Jitsuless years I was missing something in my life. I couldn't tell what it was, where to find it, or how to get it, but I knew it was missing. All I knew is that I wanted to work out. During my 5 yrs at school I went to several dojos, of many different styles for a few months here and there, but none felt quite right. I learned a lot in my travels and had a lot of fun, but something, some piece, was still missing. "It's not about kicking ass. It must be something else." I thought.

After graduation I decided to go back to martial arts, seriously this time. I went shopping for a dojo. I went to several places that were on main streets and in strip malls, with fancy signs, new carpet, new mats, and dojos full of robust young warriors in snappy red, white, and blues gis, with lots of energy. After visiting a few of these, and not being very impressed, I came across a little hole in the wall called Kodai No Bushido. It is in an industrial zone, down an alley, off a side street, nearly impossible to find if you didn't know the area.

My first impression of the building is it is looked like an oversized storage unit. Each unit had a large garage door and a heavy metal people door with a small window in it. I walked inside and saw 8 people about 30 yrs old in their pajamas, running in circles, yelling, screaming, and throwing themselves on the ground for no apparent reason. Yup, everything looks normal here! The upper walls were off white on top, sparsely decorated with a few pictures and certificates. The lower walls were lined with brown wood paneling that encircled the room, only interrupted by doors and a large distorted mirror, the kind you might find in a carnival fun house. Blue vinyl covered the lumps in the mat accented by blue gaffer's tape that repaired the rips in the vinyl cover. On the Shomen hangs a picture of Professor Okazaki.

The biggest guy, who coincidentally was the instructor, came over and introduced himself as Matt. He invited me in and offered a seat on the ugliest couch I had ever seen. This couch looked like a doctors office reject from the forties. It was made of brown vinyl, with a chrome steel frame and seated 2.5 people, not so comfortably. It had a small tear in two of the cushions. The third cushion had a huge tear in the vinyl and a canyon in the foam that was formed by tiny hands picking at it over the years. "It's ugly, but it does the job", I thought.

Matt was polite and attentive while answering questions. During the class, Matt dropped by a few times and chatted a bit. He never probed, pushed, or questioned me in anyway. "Not a very good salesman?" I thought. As I listened to Matt's answers and watched the class, I thought about the couch, "What a piece of crap. Why wouldn't they replace this? It's functional but not very attractive. It would probably scare off all the young warriors I had seen earlier." Then it occurred to me; the senseis must have day jobs, and Ju Jitsu is their hobby and not their means of support! They have a dojo because they want to practice Ju Jitsu. They don't want students for money, they want students who are there to learn and not sit on the couch. That's exactly what I was looking for! This is a dojo that feeds a passion for the arts.

With my new enlightenment, I signed up and they accepted me with open arms into their family. All the people at Kodai No Bushido have filled a void in my life that was missing for so long. I have regained my compassion, composure, confidence, and willingness to give to others without expectations (ohana and kokua). Two years later I have grown to love the dojo as a family. This is the only place I leave bumped and bruised, black and blue, confused and contorted, but I always feel better afterwards. I have so many brothers and sisters I can't keep track of them now. I have aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, that I only see a few times a year, and when we get together it's like a big reunion. They have there own dojos (families), and it is always a treat when we all get together and have a big "pajama" party. So how do we greet each other? If you just chuck me across the room, I will know you care!

So what are all the young warriors at the kickboxing studio, that passed up Kodai No Bushido because of the ugly couch, missing? They will never know.

To the Kodai No Bushido Home Page.