I never thought we were allowed to! I was brought up in a time when it was cool to be stand alone. Our dojo was the best of the best. Why would we talk to anyone else? They were beneath us. We might be polite at a tournament, but that was about it. Their kata? Awful. Sparring? Brutal.
Even when there were multiple dojo’s with the same root, we never acknowledged the other guys. They were breakaway, not recognized, ostracized.
What a stupid way to live. I had my eyes opened in Japan when an old friend of ours took us out for a night on the town. Another fellow came along, and I had never met him before. He was obviously a karate guy, but why had I never met him? Then we were introduced. He was from Gojo Ryu, an entirely different style! Yet our friend got along great with him. They were old friends and allowed their love of Karate to be a building block between them, rather than a wall!
Then I had a chance to live and train at an Aikido dojo for a few years in Regina, Canada. That Sensei had friends in different disciplines from around the world! He was friends with Aikido, Karate, Judo, Kendo and Jiujitsu.
I had my eyes opened. I now realize that there is no ONE WAY to anything. I try to teach my group that reaching out across styles only increases your own skills and awareness. Sure, we have our own bias and certainly we are not perfect, but why be closed off to others?
I think it speak volumes about a dojo’s leadership when they can’t work with others. Why the secrecy? Why the stand alone attitude? Don’t be fooled: I mean really work with others. Open up dialogue, train and teach across disciplines, invite others and allow yourself to be invited.
So again, does your dojo play nice in the sand box?
Why not?
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