New Aikido Dojo Opening in Houston, TX

Posted 2005-01-10 13:26:12 by Jorge Garcia
News URL: http://www.samuraimartialsports.com/aikido.htm

The Shindokan Dojo in Houston, Tx will be starting regularly scheduled Aikido classes beginning on Wednesday, February 2,2005. Classes will be on Wednesdays at 7pm and on Saturdays at 11am. Being a sister dojo of the Shudokan School of Aikido, members of both dojos will be able to train at either location at no extra cost. The location of the Shindokan dojo is 2217 Highyway 6 South, Houston,Tx 77077 and will serve the west Houston and Katy, Tx area. There will be a demonstration of Aikido at the Shindokan Dojo on Saturday, January 29, from 12 noon to 2pm led by Sensei Jorge Garcia, 2nd dan from the Shudokan School of Aikido. The public is invited. For more information, call 281-920-9300.

I wonder if there is any honour or regulation in dojo/school names, as Shudokan is the name of the dojo and school of Master Thamby Rajah?

What would happen if someone called their dojo/school the Yoshinkan?

Hi Si,

When I first started to read this announcement, I thought it was a Yoshinkan group and got all excited because of Parker Sensei being in Houston. But alas, it is not so.

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for multiple organizations/schools to use the same romanji for their school name. I've lost count on how many shobukan, seidokan and seibukan names are out there. In fact, within Yoshinkan, there are multiple schools with the same name, but their kanji is different. There are two Seikeikan's. Mine being the first IYAF registered, the other being in Canada. No relation other than both being IYAF and their instructor being better looking than me. But that's another story.

As for Yoshinkan, there is a Yoshinkan Karate and countless numbers of Yoshin Ryu schools.

It's all in the kanji, but I understand the spirit of your note.

... Steven

Si Wilson wrote: I wonder if there is any honour or regulation in dojo/school names, as Shudokan is the name of the dojo and school of Master Thamby Rajah? What would happen if someone called their dojo/school the Yoshinkan?

This is an interesting question Simon but very difficult to come up with a solution me thinks. I understand where you're coming from but it's kind of like you calling your son Bryan, or me calling my son Simon, or even naming your new company Wilson Sports, it's just making use of standard names. I know that your company name may be regulated by companies house if it's a limited (incorporated) company, but nothing stopping you starting an unlimited company or partnership using that name. My Sensei's dojo in Japan is called the seibukan, I have seen other Aikido and Judo clubs here in the west use the same name. Our club is called MK Seishin Aikido Club, I have seen Seishin used in other Aikido and Judo clubs too. I don't think there is any lack of honour or respect by choosing a similar name, there is a limited set to choose from really. Lack of honour/ respect would only come from using the same name and pretending to be linked to or part of the other organisation when it's not true.

Regulation would prove difficult too, unless you were a big enough organisation to sue everyone else using your name, if that's what you wanted to do, but then you'd have to prove that you used it first. It may well be that Thamby Sensei took or adopted Shudokan from somewhere else too, or that another association in Japan used it before him. What about across arts, i.e. there's a Judo or kendo association in Japan (or elsewhere in the world) that used it first, how would you go about dealing with that?

I think the only thing that one can do is accept that there are going to be other clubs and/or associations elsewhere in the world that have the same or similar names.

For what it's worth

rgds
Bryan

Friends,
No disrespect intended. I first heard the name Shudokan because of a martial arts association that I was trying to join and that was their name. I took the name because I wanted my name to match the Association I was with. Their website says the following,

"What's in a Name?
Shudokan means "an Institution for Cultivating the Way." (In this instance, do, or "the way," refers in a philosophical manner to discovering the right and natural way for human beings to live. It is the same character found in the terms budo--the martial way; sado--the way of tea, i.e. the tea ceremony; shodo--the way of Japanese calligraphy; as well as the names of various Japanese fine arts.)

It is important to note that no martial connotation can be found in the appellation Shudokan, no reference to karate-do is contained in the name, and the name has even been used on occasion by schools of Japanese cultural arts that have no connection to budo. Actually, any do form, ranging from judo to karate-do to iaido, or even fine arts such as shodo, could be considered a "vehicle for cultivating the way."

I ended up not joining the group because of some technical difficulties but since I didn't find anyone else in the United States using that name for Aikido, I decided to keep the name. Up until recently, I never even heard the name of Master Thamby Rajah and had no idea there was a Yoshinkan group by that name.Of course, if you look at my website and any ad I have ever put in a dojo finder and you will find that we have always identified ourselves as Aikikai. I never had a concern about using a name someone out there might also have because as Brian mentioned, the names of dojos are frequently duplicated. My name is Jorge and there are some good Jorge's out there and some bad ones but I just try to keep the name attached to my face clean. I think people understand the difference.
I wish master Thamby Rajah and his dojos the best in the Aikido spirit of harmony.
Best wishes,

Hi Guys,

Don't get me wrong. I am not having a go at Jorge or anyone, in fact I sent an email of best wishes to them when they started their dojo (last year I think), but I am interested in the replication of a name.

I was in the Shudokan for a number of years and following from Thamby Sensei and Stratton Sensei my dojo were named "Shudokan" as that was the name of the way I followed. I am now in a different organisation in the Yoshinkan and hope to be starting a new dojo soon and wondered about a name.

I am still totally loyal to Thamby Sensei and my late teacher Stratton Sensei, although I am no longer in the UK school. I won't use Shudokan though, as I think it would confuse, like Steven said.

So please, don't think I was "having a go", but I would really like to know people's opinions on dojo name duplication.

Best wishes Jorge, and good luck.

Regards,

Si

as much as i woud like to have a cool dojo name, one named after the city in which it is located has at least one benefit. I'm guessing there aren't too many other Tulsa Aikido Clubs...