Quote:
Ze'ev Erlich wrote:
The Late Fujita Masatake Sensei (8th dan aikikai and 12 years deshi of O-Sensei) used to mention four main points for a good dojo:
1. A clean place.
2. A picture of O-Sensei visible from each part of the dojo and hung high enough so it can be seen while practicing.
3. People practice without talking to each other.
4. Waraku 和楽 : Harmony and happiness supported by good etiquette (he used to quote about it from the teachings of Confucius)
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I'm not really comfortable with that #3. Why should people not talk to each other? The dojo I like best, and where I find the most real learning going on, there is gentle, quiet, communication going on between partners. Budo isn't for training military units developing a general, uniform skill level. It's for developing individual skills within groups with a wide range of skill levels. The aspect of the technique that I am working on will be very different from the aspect that a relative beginner is focusing on, and both will be different from someone with twice my experience. There is a place for silent practice, and a place for verbal communication. Dojo that are all silence, or that are all talk, are equally problematic to me.