Describe your Dojo, Dojang, umm... yeah

[bMunky]

Haha, sorry I dont know the other names to Dojos other than dojang. But I never really started a thread here so I'd start with this one.

I'm in four different study groups, five if I count aikido but I think I plan to switch that to pilates cause the students in that class had issues, they were dicks cause I'm a jujitsu student they said I was evil, haha. I'm in jujitsu, judo, tai chi, and capoeira. Judo is cool same class as jujitsu but different sensei and randori everyday instead of once in a while. Tai Chi is cool but I suck as of now but its great and I plan to stick with it. Capoeira is up there at the top we got a cool group with some really advanced students who I train with. And my jujitsu dojo is my favorite, everyone in the class is friends and then we got new kids this semester and they were are cool knowlegable martial artist from other backgrounds. And are sensei is really smart in small circle and danzan ryu jujitsu, she learned and taught with wally jay for 27 years, so we're getting top of the line training but shes really nice and keeps the class chill and not boring cause there 3 hours long so we learn a lot of techniques and combos and I always get to be the... and I use this term loosely... lucky one to play uke. The whole class gets along people are progressing fast and people are now finally ranking (we started off as a new class and now us begginers are now somewhat not and theres new students coming in). It was somewhat stricked at first, but now everyone is real close to sensei we know how far we can push it with out her yelling at us. Oh yeah, I train in all these arts just to see what could compliment my jujitsu I dont plan to continue to train in all these arts that would probably kill me, but just for one semester to see what one I like best.

 

[Flying Crane]

Who is your capoeira teacher?

 

[Sam]

what kind of info you looking for? The people? the physical setting?

 

[cali_tkdbruin]

Hey guyz, and BTW, yeah, I'm a Taekwondo, MA practitioner and I train at a dojang here in So. Cal... It's cool :idunno:

 

[tshadowchaser]

my school has 4 walls a cealing and a cement floor. Its cold in the winter and hot in the summer. No frils just a place to peractice.
The small group that comes very in talent from : uncorordinated and stiff to felxible and damn good. the atmosphere is a little to relaxed at times but that my fault

 

[Jade Tigress]

I study CMA and our school is called a kwoon. Like tshadowchaser's school it's a no thrills setting that is cold in the winter and hot in the summer lol. We have mats and hanging bags and all the equipment necessary, but it is a small site with a laid back atmosphere, and that's part of what I love about it. We're moving and the schools I'm looking at in our new area are the larger, "fancier" settings...not my preference...but as long as the training is as personal and productive as my current school, then I guess the site, large and fancy, or small and utilitarian, doesn't really matter.

 

[Grenadier]

I've seen a wide variety of dojos in my time. Some were certainly more accomodating than others. Just a few examples:


One dojo was located at the Fellowship Hall of the local YWCA. Normally, many would associate the martial arts being taught at one of the "Y's" as second-rate, but this instructor was particularly good. Even though the floors were tile on top of hard concrete, we still managed to get good training going.

Not many comforts there, except for the bathrooms, and the water fountain. Also a soft drink vending machine for after-class refreshments.

The janitor had a good bit of antipathy towards us "Karate folks." Any time someone was walking in the hallways barefooted, to use the water fountain, he'd start hollering in a deranged manner, about how we're dirtying the floor, but would stay quiet when someone with mud-caked boots was walking across... Go figure.

Once in a while, we'd request permission from the Y to allow us to use the gym mats that the gymnastics folks used. The Y folks would grudgingly allow us to use them.

Other than that, we had three kicking bags, and two hand-sized bags. Not really a school with a lot of resources at our disposal, but we made the best of what we had. I don't know what happened to that school, and I can only hope that they found a separate place, since the Y was looking to force them out, not too long after I had left for college.


Another place where I trained was in college, where we were using the fencing gym at the university's facilities. The floors were still hard, but had a semi-padded polymer coating that reduced some of the impacts. There were also mirrors up front. The university folks kept the place sparkling clean for us. We even got some funding from them, since we were a university sponsored club.

The fencing folks, especially the university's coach, were very gracious, and allowed us to share their locker room. We stored our kicking and punching bags in there as well.

The sabumnim was a darn good one, and had a school in the local city, and would send his best assistant instructors to teach us. During the summertime, when there was no training going on with the university's club, he'd allow us to train at his dojang for no extra cost.

The fencing coach even encouraged some of us to take up fencing if, in return, some of his fencing students would take up Tae Kwon Do. There was always a healty, mutual respect between the TKD'ers and the fencers, and as a result of some of this cross-training, I picked up some skills with the foil and saber. I wish I had more time there, since I would have loved to learn the epee`.


Another school was a dojo in a fairly rough part of the town. Despite the building's less than lustrous exterior, the inside was immaculate, and well-equipped. We even had all sorts of free weights in a dedicated room. The school is still up and running, despite the death of the chief instructor there.

There were mirrors in the front of the main training floor, which was covered with jigsaw mats, and a separate, enclosed office for the instructors. We even had a nice dialup connection (not very common in the mid 90's) and access to network.

Strangely enough, despite the location in a rough part of town, there were never any break-ins, or other criminal activities affecting us.


There are more stories, but I really need to get another cup of coffee...

 

[Sam]

my Studio (I dont think that's a proper term, but its what everyone who goes there calls it) has been in the same place since the dawn of time - since 1969.

The walls are a hideous faux wood that everyone loves to hate but the master instructor and his son both say it's leaving over their dead bodies - and the son is only 24, so I think it's gonna be around for a while yet.

There's a room to sit, sort of a lobby if you will, a small office, two small bathrooms - both unisex - a boys dressing room, a smaller girls dressing room, an instructor's dressing room (really this is for the male instructors, the two female instructors use the women's dressing room and the other 8 instructors have run of that dressing room), a large closet for sparring gear that people purchase, A large group class room, and 5 small rooms for private lessons, two of which can be sepperated by a curtain if space is needed.

The mats are red and two of the doors open in on each other and if you are standing in that corner you will get clobbered. There is a mirrored wall in the main room which I find more of a nusiance than a help. We have 6 wavesmasters or so, several staffs, two staff pads, 7 or 8 huge macho pads, and a trillion of those little hand macho pads. Plastic knives, wrapped up belt 'blubs', wooden guns... these things are also around.

 

[rompida]

Hmm... I've been to a few. Very first kwoon was a very old gas station/repair station that was cleaned up and converted. And of course, was cold in winter and hot in summer. The instructor was a creep. He was arrested for child molestation. His credentials also turned out to be largely B.S.

Second kwoon was a nice strip mall type place. Nice working HVAC system, very classy place. Lots of students though, so the instruction was not as personal. Was there for a year before shipping off to college.

Then found a kwoon in Wilmington, NC. It was a warehouse facility in a bad part of town. We had a couple problems, bums & drunks wandering in occasionally, and once we had a break-in. But, we were all like family.

Finally, trained in Modern Arnis at a strip mall type place. Some of the best instruction I've ever received. Still drive 2 1/2 hours twice a month to go back with them and train.

Bottom line.... the location never matters. Its the instructor. Small dingy places doesn't mean poor instruction, also doesn't mean the instructor is genuine, and vice versa.

 

[jdinca]

Here's a small picture of my school.

We've been located in the same shopping center for close to 20 years now.

 

[tshadowchaser]

jdinca great looking school

Very first kwoon was a very old gas station/repair station that was cleaned up and converted.

the 2nd sikaran school that my onstructor had was one of these but it still had an open oil pit in it so you can imgine some of the storys about that place

 

[Cirdan]

My karate club has dojos at three different places, all wich are at shools and have wooden floor that gets a little cold in winter. Only two of the places has showers but we usually walk home before showering anyway. At the place wich I train most the changing area is rather small for the boys and the girls walk trough there to get to their changing area. There are mats available and we have a lot of small and large pads. The walls are plain and the clock doesn`t work :uhyeah:

The kobudo club I was with a short while had a more traditional dojo wich was shared with a ninjitsu club and a kyodo club. The floor was covered with mats, a shinto shrine and some pictures of various masters adorned one wall and there were racks for weapons. There were windows along one wall and a good view of the town since we were on the 3rd floor. Altough we all took part in washing the mats after training evry time, the place tended to get a little dusty.

The Ju jutsu place is great. It has an area where you can sit down and watch the training trough a glass wall and you put your shoes on a rack here before heading to the mat or the dressing rooms. It has an air conditioning system, music system and plenty of pads, gloves and bags. There are windows along one of the walls and half of another is mirrored. Two pillars of concrete holds the ceiling up. There is also a small office for the instructors and a storing room.

Anyway, I`d pick training in a rainy pile of mud if that meant getting a great instructor and good training partners.

 

[jdinca]

jdinca great looking school

Thanks! The school used to end where the arch is.

 

[bMunky]

Who is your capoeira teacher?

no specific capoeira teacher, just a bunch of advanced students from different groups, most from this union city group. It's more of a study group, I thought I'd learn some basics before I go to a real group and when I do I'm gonna go to the group in hayward, california at bally's, the mestre there I heard is supposed to be good and I met the students at a performance at my college and they were all cool and it's only $8 a class so I want to go check them out. Why? Do you practice capoeira? I plan on sticking it to it but I dont know it's been a big burden on my knees.

 

[bMunky]

what kind of info you looking for? The people? the physical setting?

Both, and teacher and whatever comes to mind about your dojo I just wanted to hear about other peoples dojos and dojo experiences.

 

[Flying Crane]

no specific capoeira teacher, just a bunch of advanced students from different groups, most from this union city group. It's more of a study group, I thought I'd learn some basics before I go to a real group and when I do I'm gonna go to the group in hayward, california at bally's, the mestre there I heard is supposed to be good and I met the students at a performance at my college and they were all cool and it's only $8 a class so I want to go check them out. Why? Do you practice capoeira? I plan on sticking it to it but I dont know it's been a big burden on my knees.

I trained with ABADA group for several years in San Francisco, under Mestranda Marcia.

I don't know who teaches in Hayward. If this group is an informal group of students from several groups, then maybe some ABADA people are part of it. Just curious, wondered if I might know any of them.