Dojo - "The Place Of Enlightenment"

The most important thing that a student of Martial Arts must never forget is that a Dojo/Wushuguan/Dojang/Kwoon/(any other Martial Art Training Space/Hall/Place) is the "The Place of Enlightenment", Because It is:
# The Place where you Perfect your Character and Master the Divine Art of Peace.
# The Place where we learn to defend ourselves Physically, Mentally and Spiritually so that we could protect our Body, Mind & Spirit from any Harm.
# The Place where you transform from a Homo Sapien into a Human Being
# The Place where you come to realize, come face to face and connect with your True Self, your Inner Spirit
# The Place where you come to know the True Strengths, Potential and Weaknesses of your Body, Mind & Spirit
# The Place where you work, strive and dedicate your life to eliminate the weakness of your Body, Mind & Spirit
# The Place where you come to heal/fix your broken self Physically, Mentally and Spiritually.

Thus a Dojo is
> As pure and holy as a Church/Temple/Mosque
> A place of Sanctity
> A place that has to be Respected and Honoured
> A place that should be kept free from all the vices and evil in the world
> A place that needs to be protected from any and everything that could possibly destroy it

Unfortunately the Invasion of Gym culture has and is polluting most dojos we see today...

So next time you go to any dojo, go keeping all this in Mind, and you will never disrespect a dojo again...

Distance of dojo too far to practice...

This post is specially for all the people, who want to Learn Martial Arts (Karate / Aikido / Shaolin / Tai Chi Chuan, etc.) but think that the dojos/dojangs/wushu guans (training centre / classes / clubs / branches) are too far from their residence / office....

Today people have become too demanding, or should I say less passionate about things, they say they are passionate about. For example: People who want to learn Martial Arts, want the Dojos to be right in front of their doorstep...

When I started learning Karate-do... There were many so called 'Karate Schools' close to my house, but they were mostly frauds... The only place where they really taught something good was in the city... So I had to travel 46 km from the village to the city and back to my home in the village, in heavily packed public buses enduring the 1.5hrs (one way) tiring journey, standing all the way.... On my way back I used to reach home sometimes at 10 or 11 in the night, after having to cross a farmland area infested with snakes, scorpions, spiders etc.

I must be honest it was not easy, but it was not enough to deter my love for Karate-do and I continued my training without missing classes, till I shifted to a new place.

Even here in Delhi I have traveled for more than a year all the way from the West to South in crowded Buses (In fact there are no direct buses, so had to even use multiple buses) in all the extremes of weather (Heat, Cold, Humidity and Rain) that is specialty of where I live. My current residence is 7 Kms from the main dojo. But I am still not discouraged in anyway and have been practicing since 1997

Well what I have had to do to learn Karate is nothing compared to what my Sensei had... He used to Jog 13 km to his Dojo, then practice for 3 to 4 hrs and then return back home in a bus, after all that bone breaking hardcore training he has proudly gone through...

So in short, If you are passionate about something in your life, then there is nothing much that can stand in your way from achieving it... Think about it....