The Destruction Of The Sanctity Of Martial Art Dojos By The Invasion Of "Gym Culture"

PLEASE NOTE: 
# This article is related to Real Martial Art Teachers who are the Epitome of what a Martial Artist and Guru/Teacher is and related to Real Dojos that are Treated as a Temple and Place of Enlightenment.
# This article is based on Asian/Eastern Philosophies and Cultures like Indian "Guru Shishya Parampara" and very identical Chinese and Japanese Philosophies which may seem too silly, orthodox, or promoting "Teacher Worship", etc  for people of Western Culture to understand.
# This article has been inspired by all the indiscipline, protocol violations, disrespect I have been personally observing in the new gen students for my/their "Teachers" and my/their "Dojos" where I have trained and am training or visited... 

One needs to understand that, there are more deeper reasons that, don't meet the eye of people with a shallow and biased insight, as to why Traditional Eastern schools of education & art created, followed, encouraged and ensured the implementation of such Strict Protocols (and consider violating them as Taboo). t gives the Teacher the much needed control and necessary distance in order to prevent any possible Unproductive Talk, Unhealthy Relationships, Indiscipline, Disrespect, Disturbance in the Decorum of the dojo etc.
THE BEST PART OF IT IS THAT, DEDICATED AND GOOD STUDENTS FOLLOW THESE PROTOCOLS NOT OUT OF FEAR OR AS A MEANS OF BUTTERING, BUT OUT OF PURE LOVE AND RESPECT FOR THEIR TEACHER AND THEIR DOJO AND SO TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN IT.

ITS SAD TO OBSERVE HOW GYM CULTURE HAS INVADED THE DOMAIN OF ALMOST ALL MARTIAL ARTS BEING PRACTICED IN THE WORLD TODAY AND HAS POLLUTED & PERVERTED THE PURITY, SANCTITY & DISCIPLINE OF MARTIAL ART DOJO'S IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE...

Lets discuss some of the most common ones:
1) Violations Against Teachers:
A Martial Arts Teacher who teaches us to defend ourselves not just Physically but Mentally & Spiritually as well and is actually more than a guide for life, but for many he/she is no different from a Coach in the Gym.

What a Martial Art Teacher actually is?
The graphic above and its content is not my creation.
The copyright of the contents in this Graphic
belongs to its rightful Anonymous creators

The moment a Teacher becomes friendly towards his/her students they start committing all the worst protocol violations that one can think of...

• Teachers are no longer addressed by their Respectful Titles "Sensei", "Shifu", etc and are replaced with very informal means of addressing, in worst cases they are even called by their first names.
• No longer are the Protocols and Limitations in Physical Contact/Interaction respected by the students.
• No longer do Students maintain silence when their Teacher is talking... They have their own important things to discuss.
• No longer do Students observe their Teacher when he is demonstrating as they have better or too many more important things on their minds.

UNFORTUNATELY FOR STUDENTS TODAY, A TEACHER IS NO LONGER A TEACHER FOR LIFE... (Many PARASITIC STUDENTS just come to take/steal the Teacher's knowledge and then dump their Teachers or worse use it against them)

IN FACT FOR MANY STUDENTS TODAY, A TEACHER IS NO LONGER A TEACHER OUTSIDE THE DOJO/WUSHU GUAN, OR AFTER THEY STOPPED TRAINING UNDER HIM/HER AND TREAT THEIR TEACHER LIKE HE/SHE WERE JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY PERSON THEY KNOW...

2) Violations in the Dojo/Wushu Guan...
Not following the Dojo Etiquette as Instructed by the Teacher or Seniors of the Dojo.

• Talking Loudly, Screaming, Sing, Joking/Fooling around and not being serious in the class, What's worse is when they do it in front of the Shomen/Alter in a Dojo/Wushu Guan.
• Swearing/Cussing and use of Profane Uncivilized Language
• Dirty/Cheap Talk
• Playing pranks on other students. 
• Deliberately not putting their mobile phones in Silent and worse using their Mobile phones inside the Dojo while training is in progress.
• Dirtying the Dojo/Wushu Guan.
• Destroying the Dojo/Shaolin Wushu Guan or the training equipment present in it.
• Many Students forget that a Dojo/Wushu Guan is a "PLACE OF ENLIGHTENMENT" and is as holy and pure as a Place of Worship and not a place of fashion or a place to flaunt the sexiness of their bodies, end up coming to Dojo/Wushu Guan shamelessly and immodestly dressed. (Dress Code for Beginners Learning Martial Arts...)

To be honest, it is the responsibility of the Teacher to maintain the necessary distance with his students and the responsibility of the Senior Students of the Teacher to educate the new comers and Juniors in the proper etiquette and protocols that they (as a student learning Martial Arts), must understand from their core and implement:
# in their interaction with their Teachers and
# while practising in the Dojo

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....