Dojo Diversity and Loneliness
Inryoku Volume 5 Issue 6
By Josh Paul, AOSB Head Instructor
“Our mission is to build a community of inclusive, mindful individuals through the practice and transmission of aikido technique and philosophy. ”
I’ve been thinking about America’s loneliness epidemic, and the dojo’s capacity for creating and providing community. The dojo creates community in two ways: sometimes people seeking aikido find community among the other practitioners and sometimes people seeking community find aikido.
Recognizing the difference and the diversity of motivations within the dojo is essential for creating and building a harmonious practice. When motivations differ, priorities in practice may differ. However, whatever the motivations, through the structure of the practice, everybody shares in creating the community.
Because aikido is necessarily communal: it is practiced with other people, not against other people. It is a mutual practice between two people joining together to create something new. O’sensei called this inryoku.
Self-defense is the obvious reason people join the dojo, but self-defense is often not a primary motivation—it is more of an added benefit—for starting. Likewise, self-defense is often not the motivation underlying a practice that spans decades. For some, the physical aspects of aikido are vehicles for improving coordination, fitness, or mind-body connection. For others, it’s about building confidence and self-esteem, and doing something they thought impossible. Some members see training as a form of self-care or self-empowerment. And others approach it as a meditation that offers inner calm and improved concentration. None of these are mutually exclusive. Over the course of a long aikido career, they are all motivations that vary in priority. Ultimately, training is about becoming a happy, healthy, and whole individual.
Embracing diversity and working inclusively is inherent in the very structure of aikido. Our dojo welcomes all people and all motivations. Diversity fosters stability and a shared purpose helps alleviate loneliness. And everybody on the mat has a purpose.
“The Art of Peace is medicine for a sick world.”
Scholarship Fundraiser
AOSB is proud to offer scholarships and tuition assistance to our community. Diversity is also economic, and we believe that economics should not prevent students of any age from pursuing their path.
All tuition payments made while members are on summer vacation are added to our scholarship program. This initiative help families fund tuition payments, seminar and workshop attendance, test fees, and other aikido expenses.
Please contact us if you’d like to make a contribution and choose a thank you gift: an AOSB t-shirt, a 45-minute private lesson, or a batch of homemade hard candies (Josh Sensei makes them himself.)