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Welcome to Capitol Hill Aikikai!
Dojo Etiquette and Culture

The nature of a dojo is influenced by many things, including the dojo's etiquette and its culture. Below is a brief description of the etiquette and culture of Capitol Hill Aikikai.

Dojo Etiquette

Every dojo has its own rules of conduct, or etiquette, that the members are expected to follow.

At Hombu Dojo in Tokyo, Japan, there are eight major dojo rules:

1) Proper manners and rules should be obeyed, while following the instructions of one's teacher.

2) Practice should be serious and sincere, but should not inflict an injury on others.

3) All should participate in cleaning following practice, in order to insure a clean place of training.

4) There should be no smoking in the dojo at anytime.

5) Harmony should be respected, and the practice should be bright.

6) Practice under the influence of alcohol should be avoided.

7) People observing practice should respect the rules and order of the dojo.

8) All accidents and/or injuries resulting from practice are the responsibility of the individual member.

Capitol Hill Aikikai adds one more rule to this list:

9) During instruction, the focus should be on one's training; conversation should be kept to a minimum.

Dojo Culture

Every aikido dojo has its own culture. In part, the dojo's instructors set the tone that will become the basic of the dojo's culture. In addition, the attitudes and intentions of the dojo's students also contribute to the overall culture of the dojo.

As a relatively new group, the culture of Capitol Hill Aikikai is still being formed. It is my hope that Capitol Hill Aikikai will become a place where the students train vigorously and diligently, while also enjoying their practice. 

-- Martin Sensei

Sensei's Comments

On Seminars

With spring approaching, the season for aikido seminars has arrived. With warmer weather, more dojos hold special intensive weekend aikido seminars featuring guest instructors from around the United States and overseas, including in some cases, Hombu Dojo in Tokyo.

In my mind, aikido seminars are excellent opportunities for developing your aikido for several reasons. First, it provides a chance to train with new people who don’t know you or your style of aikido. Whether we like to admit it or not, we can get into routines or ruts in our training at our home dojo. Training with people who don’t have a preconceived notion of how you are going to do a technique or how you will be taking ukemi provides an opportunity to see a more “natural” reaction to your movement. While there is a risk of conflict in styles, this generally does not lead to injuries or ill-will in aikido seminars.

Second, the guest instructor may have a different interpretation of a technique or a different style of ukemi. The seminar becomes a chance to try something different and see if it works for you. In the end, aikido is a very personal martial art; everyone moves differently, so their aikido is different. At the worst, the seminar teaches you that the style or approach of the instructor does not work for you at this time. At the other extreme, the instructor’s interpretation may lead to a breakthrough in your aikido and open your eyes to a new aspect of aikido.

Third, some seminars may challenge your current understanding of what is “good aikido.” One of the saddest things I witness at aikido seminars is watching people train as if they were back at their home dojo, doing the techniques and taking ukemi exactly the way they would if they were training on their mat back home – ignoring everything the guest instructor is saying or doing. It makes me wonder why these people even bothered to come to the seminar. Not only would they have saved money, but it seems rude to ignore the guest instructor and can be very disruptive to the seminar as a whole.

Fourth, attending seminars is a great opportunity to meet more people who share a common interest – aikido. Over the years, I have made friends around the world as the result of attending aikido seminars. While you may not see those people very often, when you do meet again at a seminar or when traveling around the world, the friendship usually picks up from where it left off the last time you met on the mat.

In the weeks ahead, I will be making announcements about upcoming seminars in the Washington DC area or elsewhere that I think may be of interest to you. I hope you find the time to attend at least one seminar before the cold weather sets in and the number of seminars drop off again. 

Capitol Hill Aikikai
www.capitolhillaikikai.org
202-509-1632