“Aikido & Nature slowly catching on at the Koru Dojo in New Zealand” by David Lynch

It was a gamble building a dojo two and a half hours from the nearest city and 15 minutes from the nearest town. A gamble that would have made a real-estate agent with his ‘location, location, location’ rule shake his head.

But I thought there must be others sharing my enthusiasm for the spiritual affinity of aikido and Nature, who would appreciate being able to practice in one of the most beautiful places in the world and who would, therefore, find their way here if we waited patiently.

Three years on, the naivete of this view is all too apparent.

But the dojo is slowly catching on and I have been encouraged by the enthusiasm of those who have come to train with us, like the young man from the Czech Republic, which is about as far from New Zealand as you can get, who stayed for two months, trained every day and explored the region’s unspoiled beaches and bush in between sessions.

We have also had a steady stream (or perhaps I should say a trickle) of aikido practitioners from Europe, Asia, Japan and America, staying for varying lengths of time, from a couple of nights to several months.

Domestic interest has been slow, perhaps because of the relatively small size of the aikido population in this country, or the price of petrol! Some people may erroneously believe they should not visit a dojo outside their particular ‘style’ of aikido, whereas, of course, our independent dojo is available to anyone regardless of their affiliation, just as are the many ‘gasshuku centres’ in Japan. This is a place for people whose love of aikido transcends such narrow considerations.

Having had a fair amount of experience in the main styles, I am quite comfortable training with anyone, or I can step aside and simply make the dojo available to a particular group.

We are beginning to get some inquiries from high-school students interested in doing an “Aikido & Nature” course as part of their ‘gap year’ life experience before they enter university and I am excited about the potential for this.

Domestic interest has been slow, perhaps because of the relatively small size of the aikido population in this country, or the price of petrol! Some people may erroneously believe they should not visit a dojo outside their particular ‘style’ of aikido, whereas, of course, our independent dojo is available to anyone regardless of their affiliation, just as are the many ‘gasshuku centres’ in Japan. This is a place for people whose love of aikido transcends such narrow considerations.

After 18 years living and training in Tokyo the contrast in lifestyle could hardly be greater (which is why my wife Hisae and I are here) and, even though we have come to realize the dojo will probably never be packed with students training every day, we still love it here and want to share the place with others of like mind.

Click here to visit David Lynch’s New Zealand dojo website.

Josh Gold

Executive Editor of Aikido Journal, CEO of Budo Accelerator, and Chief Instructor of Ikazuchi Dojo.

3 comments

  • Real estate and Aikido are opposite paths.
    To your credit you followed your heart and vision.
    The Aikido world is surely better off as a result.
    Never be daunted and keep up the great work

  • Ah, the commercial aspects of trying to make a living, and pay the bills verses doing something you love to do …. it is soooo hard to make the twain meet, isn’t it? As sad as it may be, advertise, do the talk show programs, keep getting yourself out there with seminars and word of mouth. Have faith …. THEY WILL COME!

  • Looks beautiful indeed. Have closed, let’s see, three… or is it four? dojos. The most beautiful location was Lake Tahoe. Fortunately have never expected them to pay, and have never had significant amounts of money at risk. I can also afford to feed some of my neighborhood birds. Finally, the true beauty of any dojo is the people it attracts.

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