AikiWeb Aikido Forums - View Single Post - Poll: How active are you in your aikido dojo's community?

Amelia Smith · 07-19-2006, 06:31 AM

In my dojo we rarely have parties (maybe once or twice a year) and go out for beer, etc., even less often. I really try to encourage people to go to seminars, but it's still not really a well-established part of our dojo culture. So, community remains more or less on the mat. People do establish friendships with each other, but less so than in other places where I've trained.

I think it's because the dojo is too far from the nearest bar (a 20 minute drive) and most of the senior students have non-practicing spouses/partners who expect them to be home reasonably promptly after class. I would really like to see more of a dojo social life, but it can be difficult to get people to do anything. We do occasionally (every couple of years) have dojo video nights, where we sit around and watch aikido videos. That's a lot of fun, when it happens.

07-19-2006, 06:31 AM	#11
Amelia Smith Dojo: Martha's Vineyard Aikido Club Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 154 Offline	Re: Poll: How active are you in your aikido dojo's community? In my dojo we rarely have parties (maybe once or twice a year) and go out for beer, etc., even less often. I really try to encourage people to go to seminars, but it's still not really a well-established part of our dojo culture. So, community remains more or less on the mat. People do establish friendships with each other, but less so than in other places where I've trained. I think it's because the dojo is too far from the nearest bar (a 20 minute drive) and most of the senior students have non-practicing spouses/partners who expect them to be home reasonably promptly after class. I would really like to see more of a dojo social life, but it can be difficult to get people to do anything. We do occasionally (every couple of years) have dojo video nights, where we sit around and watch aikido videos. That's a lot of fun, when it happens.