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Old 01-28-2014, 11:30 PM   #1
RHKarst
Dojo: Joplin MO
Location: Joplin, MO
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 16
United_States
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How can we get a dojo in town?

Living in the Joplin Area we have had our problems as of late. (Like the Tornado in 2011) But most of our businesses have come back and most of the people simply moved to a surrounding town, still in the area.

We have about 100,000 to 200,000 people in our metropolitan area (depending on how far out you call our area, but many people drive 40 to 50 miles each week to shop here.) Yet even with all those people, we don't have a good Aikido Dojo. We have a hard style, combined with Ju-jitsu that is taken by many of the local police, but a soft, true, Aikido . . . ???

For a while we kinda did . . . and we don't need to go into what happened here, but there is a market here for a quality Aikido Dojo. I took Aikido in CA for a couple of years, and then here in Joplin for about 10 years. We kept the classes full, even though there was a fair turnover. Lots of people here like the idea of a soft art.

Dojo locator shows 9 various martial arts schools in Joplin, and 15 within a 25 mile radius. But I can't find one Aikido class closer than Springfield or Tulsa (60 plus miles).

As much as I love Aikido, that is a bit far for me to drive after work and then back home at night, and stay awake! :-) Especially for this 58 year old. Does anyone have any ideas about how to attract a quality Sensei to a great town?
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