Dojo Concepts

Our Dojo has a strong goal to practice and promote Japanese Kenjutsu, Iaido, Kendo and Culture as correctly and directly as possible as it is practised in Japan. Kendo and Iaido have had a strong role in defining and shaping traditional Japanese culture, and as such, traditional Japanese etiquette is a very important part of dojo training. At our dojo, Kenjutsu is studied to follow as closely as possible the Zen Samurai’s aspirations. The sword is a means to polish your soul, it’s not a tool to cut people in half.

We are not a training gym

It is very important to realise from the start that we are not a training gym. We do Budo, and this is different to "martial arts". A lot of martial arts dojos in New Zealand operate under a training gym type system, like attending an aerobics class. In such training gym dojos, you pay your money and get taught something in return. A Budo dojo is very different to this type of gym. Unfortunately many people are used to the training gym dojos and as such sometimes find it difficult to understand about a proper dojo's Reigi and other expectations. Basically the difference is that you show respect and you take charge of your progress yourself. A sensei is different to an instructor and a lot of training gym dojos use the word instructor for this reason. A sensei has no obligation to teach, and although the word sensei is used to describe a teacher, it is also used to describe doctors, lawyers professors, and other "learned" people. We pay fees only to cover gym hire and dojo gear when needed, they are not payment for instruction and should not be thought of as such. We all pay fees so that we are able to train, Dan gives his time freely so that you may learn.

Reigi (etiquette) and rules

In the dojo, Reigi is very important. Iaido dojos often dont use an aggressive approach in enforcing etiquette. Instead, each member is expected and required to take it very seriously themselves. If you need a big scary sensei shouting at you to behave, then you may not have the self discipline necessary for kenjutsu.  It is often quite hard to follow traditional Japanese Budo Reigi of your own volition if you haven’t done any other Japanese Budo before, but you will be taught the correct way to behave and the dojo always has a supportive atmosphere. It is a higher level of discipline to be able to behave properly without being shouted at all the time and this is in reflection of the higher level of training of an Iaido dojo.

There are rules for behaviour in the dojo and these are taught openly and clearly from the start. ways to bow in, how to behave, etc.  These rules are very clear and easy to follow and everyone has a chance to learn them. Reigi however is more a state of mind, having the proper attitude to training and to the people round you, though there is overlap in rules and Reigi.

People start both Kendo and Iaido with a variety of goals and ideas, whether these be correct or not; if you saw Last Samurai and thought it was cool, or if you are very interested in Zen and wish to expand your horizons, or even if you just think katana are cool, these are all fine reasons to start training. You are encouraged to think about what Iaido and kendo means to you and you should be willing to revise your ideas all the time.

Training

We train twice a week at the moment, Sundays and Thursdays. we will expand training times as we can. Our main training is on Sundays from 12:45 to 4:00 at Papanui high school’s old gym and on Thursdays from 7:15pm to 8:45pm at the Papanui Methodist church. Sundays training includes tameshigiri, kendo and kumitachi as well as Iaido kata keiko, Thursdays is Iaido kata keiko only.

A typical Iaido training is basically guided practice. You will be taught the basics and the kata as you go, but you will practice at your own pace and be guided as you need it. Kendo training is ultimately mainly ji-geiko [sparring] once you have spent the time to get the basics right for adults and ji-geiko plus kihon (basics drill work) for members of the Shonen Kendo dojo.

Membership

Membership fees are flexible depending on how much and how often you will train. Fees will be reviewed every year with the aim of keeping them as low as possible. Full membership is $10 per week, which entitles you to attend every training session and to borrow any necessary gear free of charge. Kendo only is $15 per month and there is casual membership available too.

Basic rules

Dojo etiquette dictates that you treat one and other with respect, you follow the standard Iaido reiho [way of politeness], you treat all gear with respect and care, you must listen [keep eye contact] when senpai or sensei tell you something, and show a clear response. ["hai"] Before you use the dojo, clean it, everyone should take a turn to clean, and be pro-active about doing it. You should  arrive early enough to be able to get changed, clean the floor, etc before starting time and tell sensei if you won’t be able to make it to this or next training. It’s mainly common sense with a bit of Japanese dojo culture thrown in as well, such as no shoes on the dojo floor. When you train, you must try your best all the time, differentiate between training times and resting times. Its OK to rest when you are tired, but if you are on the floor training, you should be concentrating on that.

If you have a proper and sincere attitude to Iaido and you train seriously and listen to advice, then its easy to join in and enjoy your training. We don’t believe in the overly militaristic approach of other Budo dojos because Iaido is about polishing your own soul, yourself. Even though we don’t have a militaristic atmosphere, members are still required to behave and train properly, everyone contributes to the atmosphere of the dojo.