Shugyo: Overcoming, Persevering

In the Dojo Volume 2 Issue 10

By Josh Paul Sensei, AOSB head instructor

If you’ve spent any time in the dojo, you’ve heard the word shugyo. Whether you’ve taken class, watched your child’s class, or watched an exam, the word shugyo has come up. Translations of the word sometimes vary, but all translations suggest the same fundamental ethos: deep, dedicated, personal training. Shugyo is about dedication and perseverance. Shugyo is about maintaining a commitment to a path of personal development (i.e., aikido) and a dojo even when doing so is difficult or perhaps even impossible. Shugyo is about overcoming obstacles, and finding new ways to pursue and maintain a path throughout life.

Shugyo comes in many forms. Primarily, shugyo is about training routinely and practicing daily, both on and off the mat. When in the dojo, shugyo is about 100% commitment and attention to the practice. Off the mat, shugyo is about implementing aikido’s principles of controlling aggression without inflicting injury. Neither is easy and both are idealistic. However, it is not the application of a technique or principle that defines shugyo. It is the effort to do so that matters.

Despite this year’s interruptions, social distancing requirements, technological learning curves, and general chaos, several youth students (and their families) truly embraced the spirit of shugyo while we were closed by consistently attending Zoom classes, maintaining their connection to the dojo and their peers, and working to make the Zoom classes fun. They have earned promotions, and deserve mention:

Casimir M, 8.0 kyu (orange belt)
Isaac S., 8.0 kyu (orange belt)
Evan C., 8.0 kyu (orange belt)
Julianne C., 5.5 (green belt with 2 stripes)
Adrian M., 3.5 kyu (purple belt with 2 stripes)
Lysander M., 3.5 kyu (purple belt with 2 stripes)
Gus W. 3.0 kyu (purple belt with 3 stripes)
Jakob W. 3.0 kyu (purple belt with 3 stripes)

They are not alone. Once we reopened on September 8, many students of all ages returned and joined, making it possible (even necessary) for us to gradually expand the class schedule. We’re now offering kids and teen classes 4 days per week, and we will soon be able to offer 3 weekly adult classes. More promotions (including black belt promotions) are planned in the coming weeks.

In general, New York City and Aikido of South Brooklyn continued to progress throughout October. Despite spikes in COVID-19 rates in several parts of the city, and disheartening (and sometimes terrifying) news from much of the country, on Sunday, October 25, New York City reported only 343 new cases. The rate of transmission was 1.04, indicating that the virus is spreading, but slowly, and of more than 108,000 tests, 1.4% were positive. A persistent 3% positivity rate is the threshold for shutdowns.

Importantly, we’ve continued implementing our safety and disinfection protocols, and working to keep the dojo safe for everybody. Please remember to sign up in advance for classes so we can maintain safe class sizes. As classes fill up, we’re ready to expand the schedule further. We’d be very happy to see demand for classes outstrip supply.

On social media, Aikido of South Brooklyn will be featured in a series of posts by @budocool and @yoshinproject about training and navigating a family-owned dojo through the pandemic. Be sure to follow them!

Private indoor, outdoor, and online sessions, tuition assistance, and scholarships are all still available, as are simulcasts of in-person youth and teen classes. The mat awaits you. Let us know how to get you there.

Upcoming events

The Aikido World Alliance will be hosting its first virtual seminar November 20-22, 2020. There will be a 1-hour training session each day followed by a 30-minute Q&A with Andrew Sato Sensei, head instructor of the AWA. A few spots are available to watch and train along with the seminar in the dojo. Click here to register for the event and click here to reserve a space in the dojo.