A new year is upon us once again; this will make the seventh year I’ve been in San Francisco trying to make a dojo happen from essentially nothing. Back in 1995 when I started the Seattle dojo, I did it by myself, with no other teachers to help me, and a mere eight students to begin teaching. It took over ten years to create a viable dojo that could take care of itself, enough to free me to move to California. The big difference here is that I’m not thirty years old any more; even if I were, I would not choose to start a dojo with such a bare bones team to help.
2013 was the year that San Francisco produced our first Red Belt, and created a few more teachers – necessary components for the creation of a permanent full-time dojo. Necessary because, once again, I’m not thirty years old any more. Back in 1995 I worked 12 hour days for years, six to seven days a week. I had no balance outside of the dojo, and it was literally a crazy time to be a part of that era of Quantum. There were many equally positive things that came out of that era, and I while I wouldn’t want to repeat that kind of craziness, I also wouldn’t trade that experience for anything; kind of like Marine Corps Boot Camp.
This is more because martial arts without balance is not really practicing in the true spirit of your training. Your training is there to assist you in becoming a whole person; a whole person is one that engages with life on all levels and lives fully in the moment. We don’t train hard so that we can just do more karate; we train hard to earn our freedom.
As we embark on this new path of creating our permanent home in San Francisco, I am reminded of the adage that “many hands make light work”. Without the support of all of the members of the our dojo community, our endeavor is doomed to fail. But if any number of us loses sight of the importance of balance, we are also doomed to fail; as we have learned from the relentless pursuit of our art, power without balance is a useless thing.
As more opportunities arise to allow every one of you to step up to the collective plate of this endeavor, I urge you all to reflect on how a balanced approach will create a dojo community that will endure and hence challenge each of us for years to come. In any not-for-profit venture, there arises the thought that if you don’t step up to do any given task along the way, that it will not get done. In truth, you must make space for all to have a place to step up and contribute in a way that is commensurate with each person’s gifts and abilities.
As each of you looks for a way to volunteer, remember to balance your approach with all that is needed in your life; this is truly reflective of the martial way.
I am looking forward to a great 2014!