Studying with Ohno Sensei in Seattle

I had never been to Seattle until I was invited by Ohno Sensei. Seattle was a nice place, different from Columbus, Ga. I guess what makes Seattle so special for me is that she lives there.

I spent three weeks there being trained by her. It was very fantastic!

She taught me how to dance Japanese traditional dance, singing and playing the Shamisen.Each sesion begain and ended in a bow.

Her energy level was never ending and I was so tired at the end of each day.

To help compensate her for all the lessons, I helped her repair thing around her house, painting, and some gardening. We cooked lunch together and had some good discussions. Sensei always either picked me up and dropped me off, or made sure another student would do for me.

The two weeks ended and it was time for me to go. I felt sad that I could not do all the things we had been doing together, but at least I was able to do that much. Thanks to her I was able to advance in many ways. Not only learning more technique but how to be a better sensei. Thank you Sensei!! Iro Iro Oshite Itadaite, Doumo Arigatou Goziamashita!

Quitting the Dojo

After you have been training at a Dojo and you decide you want to quit for some reason , there are two ways to do this , the graceful and dignified way and the ungraceful and undignified way. Here are some examples of the graceful and dignified way to quit:

No. 1 Go to the Dojo tell your Sensei why you want to quit , then thank him for training you.

Now here are some examples of the ungraceful and undignified way.

No. 1 Quit dont come to the Dojo and do not say a word about it to your sensei .
No. 2 Call your Sensei on the phone and quit.
No. 3 Tell one of your Dojo coeds to let the sensei know you are quiting.
No. 4 Quit by email

The way you quit a Dojo says alot about your character, so if you have learned any thing from me please let it be this one!

黒帯び Kuro Obi (Black Belt)

I remember when my Sensei awarded me a Black Belt. I was very suprised because I thought to receive it would mean I was a great fighter with powerful skills. So I was kind of in a shock because I knew I did not have great skills and had no powerful skills! It was a joke? Guess not because the next week I was wearing a black belt. Wow!
The reason why is that in Japan, a black belt is a basic mark of distinction of a member of the Dojo that has developed enough basic skill that will allow him to get into deeper training, and it is this deeper training that is necessary to have in order to be a powerful fighter.

Here in the USA, the Black Belt seems to reflect that you are a very powerful fighter with the highest standard of fighting skills. While that may be so at other Dojos, here at my Dojo, the black belt means the same as it did in Japan, not much significance. After you receive your black belt here, deeper training starts. In my experience training people, most of them are very eager to train hard under any circumstance, then shortly after receiving there black belt , they quit.
After training folks around here for 18 years, I have only a handful of Black Belts that are still working on being that Black Belt that everyone wants to be.
So if you have received a Black belt from this Dojo and you quit after that , don't be telling every one that you are a Black Belt in Jujutsu like it holds a lot of merit. The truth is you were just a beginner.
Further more, one's training never ends. You must keep being involved , keep up your skills and further shape your spirit and character. Oh , I forgot , I have told some black belts not to come back , the reason ? Because I could not see improvement in their character. Instead of becoming better and better, they let themselves go, and got worse. You have to have superior physical technique but also become a more disciplined and principled person.

Sometimes I meet people who have studied Martial arts. When I asked them about their experience, they say that , 'Oh yea, I got a Black Belt in Karate.' I ask them if they still practice, most all of them have replied, NO! I feel that if you are not practicing or participating in some way, you are not a Black Belt much less a powerful fighter!

My next article," How to properly dismiss oneself from training".