The Silk Thread of Gorindo - Ottawa - Canada
Issue VI
- The Simple Act of Breathing (Part 2)
Photo cover Claudio Iedwab sensei, Gorindo School of Martial Art
Nowhere to Run
The sensei hung an inflated ball in the corner of the dojo so that the students could practice their reflexes with a moving target. One student danced round, dodging this way and that, usually missing the ball. He did manage to hit the walls though, bouncing off and muttering, “This room is too small. We need a bigger place to train.” Hearing his complaint, the next day the sensei hung a heavy canvas bag stuffed with sand and cloth padding in another corner of the dojo, so that his students could practice hitting a target that didn’t move. Another student ran and kicked, jumping in circles to make the heavy bag swing from its hook in the ceiling.’“I need more room to give me momentum. It’s hard to move this thing.”
The next day the sensei hung yet another heavy bag in a third corner. “It’s getting hot in here with all this running and bouncing. We’re too close, we need more room,” a student complained. After the weekend the students arrived to find a refrigerator filled with cold juice and spring water inside the dojo. Although they had to be careful opening the door of the fridge when someone ran by, most of the students reached for a cold drink. A new student complains, “My elbow gets knocked when I’m trying to drink. There’s no room to sit!” For the next few days the dojo filled with chairs and more chairs, some that folded against the wall and some that had plush cushions. Now everyone sat and watched a few students who occasionally got up to hit the hanging ball.”I wish we had room to do kata,” an older student said.
The next day, the sensei asked all the students to move the ball and the heavy bags and the fridge and the chairs out of the dojo and into the lobby. Suddenly the dojo seemed empty and full of possibilities. “There is so much more room here!” said the happy students. “I never noticed how much room sensei has provided us with to train. We should practice easily with all this room.”
The sensei watched, sipping his water.
Excerpt from “The Peaceful Way - A Children's Guide to the Traditions of the Martial Arts” by Claudio Iedwab & Roxanne Standefer
Illustration by © Claudio Iedwab
- The Simple Act of Breathing (Part 2)
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