Job done!

Victory!! - the offending concrete pillar is no more. And what's more I managed to remove it without sending cracks down into the rest of the house (phew!). So major step 1 in prepping the dojo space is done and just in time as we will move into the house this weekend. Finally we get into our own house and home:).

The open mat space in the dojo is going to be at least 6 x 7 metres which should be plenty of room to practice those 'big' sacrifice throws we all love, not to mention weapons work with the 6ft bo staff. I can't wait to get this built!

Getting back to the saga of the 3 day battle with the concrete pillar for just a moment, I was reminded of another principle of combat when the pillar finally fell. I had attacked the pillar systematically, knowing that just pounding it with the hammer randomly would never get me anywhere (well not for a very very long time anyway). So I worked around the base of it, chipping away its support piece by piece, chopping out the steel bars and then finally it cracked at the base and fell over under its own weight. A perfect example of 'kuzushi' - which in martial arts terms describes the unbalancing of an opponent through the process of putting them in a position where their stability and ability to recover balance is destroyed.  The noun comes from the verb kuzusu meaning to level, pull down or demolish.

Without well executed kuzushi, attempting to throw an opponent ,especially one who is bigger than you or resisting the throw, becomes extremely difficult and usually requires sheer brute strength to pull off. Kuzushi can be achieved a number of different ways (positioning, using the opponents momentum against them, by striking or even feinting or distracting the opponent) and I find an active awareness of 'kuzushi' is equally essential in both karate and jujitsu training. Good 'kuzushi' enables even an opponent who seems to made of concrete to be beaten with ease!

View from the dojo

Thought I would share with you the view looking south from the dojo and the house. Its green and pleasant and quite quiet here towards the top of the hillside which really makes it a pleasure to be here. I really look forward to sharing it with family and friends in the future.

Immovable object vs irresistable force - day 2

After several hours of work I now have what I can best describe as a concrete and steel spider sculpture. Having stripped out the 12 internal bars, removing 4 completely I'm down to the core concrete which is only about 50cms thick so that should be a breeze! (not). While working away at this task I have been thinking about the Japanese term 'nintai' which means endurance or perseverance.

Traditional Japanese martial arts often refer to 'nintai' as a very worthy value and essential to cultivate as a martial artist and improved human being. And the character 'nin' is also a very beautiful, balanced character containing the characters for sword and heart within it. I have decided the character 'nin' will be prominent in my dojo to remind me daily of lifelong 'nintai' as well as the tasks involved in building this place.

Immovable object vs. irresistable force

Step one in the dojo build: Remove the re-enforced concrete pillar from the future mat space. This lump of concrete and steel has been here immovable for over 30 years since the house was first built and is fact the top of one of the major support pillars for the whole building. It hasn't visibly weathered in any way at all (good news for the house) and I suspect will be an absolute bitch to take the top off. My tools - angle grinder, trusty sledge hammer and a relentless inability to accept defeat!

The tricky part is that I absolutely do not want to crack this pillar below the level of this floor for obvious reasons. So getting this wrong could put a rather serious dent in all the very expensive renovation work which has been going on the in the house below. I can't just smash this thing with abandon. This needs somewhat of a surgical approach albeit applied with a sledge hammer!...

...3 hours in and I have confirmed 2 things I suspected. One - this thing is packed with 20mm steel bars, no wonder the house has stood up to 30 years of Okinawan typhoons and tropical rainstorms so robustly. And two - this job is going to take 2 or 3 days and plenty of blisters and plasters!

well at least the weather is fine and I'm not stuck behind a desk;)

Dojo fit out and kit list

I'm starting this list so that we (you know who you are:) can work up a good comprehensive but affordable (!) kit list for the dojo. We are going to train in jujitsu and karate for real life self defence and competitive situations as well as modern and traditional weapons, and combat fitness so I need to fit out the dojo to best support that. Please add comments to this post and I'll edit and add in items to the list as we decide them.

OK, for starters, some obvious stuff:
Judo mats - approx 6m x 7m space - 40mm interlocking EVA foam mats
Heavy punch/kick bag
Makiwara
Weapons rack
Kick/punch pads (x4)
Kettlebells (various sizes)
Barbell(s)
Power bands (need to fix anchor points in the dojo too)
Pull up bar(s)
Big sand bag(s)
Boxing gloves (4 pairs)
MMA gloves (4 pairs)
TRX trainer(s) - never tried this but looks excellent for core strength training and flexibility so on the list for now

Wood, steel, stone - choices, choices...

Having put together my initial design based on a timber frame with block walls I have had a few thoughts about redesign myself and been given a few pointers from some local experts that now have me in a bit of a quandary. I've decided to go for smaller, slightly higher horizontal windows on the basis of safety, as the dojo is about 3 floors up, and reducing unnecessary costs where I can. So that will mean a bit more blockwork than before. I'm also thinking about incorporating in some skylights if possible to let more natural light in. But the big question is whether a timber frame will be typhoon proof. My builder says he would use a steel frame due to the length of the beams. He definitely knows his stuff when it comes to construction but I also know that he will often present his preferred option (based on time, cost, hassle, the skills available, etc) as the only option. So do I go with my gut instinct which is to build with timber, a natural beautiful material that I can work with easily, or the steel frame option?? I have to decide this before anything can move forward...

cool xray view of dojo design

The space and the first design

The space...

Its about 12 x 7 metres in total

And my current design (courtesy of Google Sketchup - what a great free tool! thanks Google) looks like this from the road end (north west corner)

And the back view from the south west corner

The design is timber frame based with a simple corrugated steel roof. Red Okinawan tiles look great and would add a very traditional look but require a much steeper pitch to the roof so unfortunately I don't think thats an option as all the power, phone and cable lines come into the house from the west side (the side the dojo is on) just above the existing roof. I will post the 3D design online soon too.

Getting started - welcome!

Its been a long held dream of mine to move to Okinawa, the birthplace of karate (and my wife), to live a life more balanced between family, training and work (and roughly in that order of priority). Finally, after 10 years together in the UK, we decided to make the move and came out to Okinawa to live permanently at the end of August 09'. Having been very fortunate to have a fantastic place to live with a potential space for an attached home dojo I have decided to get stuck in and build it as soon as possible. A dojo is more than just a training space as many martial artists will know very well. Nagamine Shoshin, the founder of Matsubayashi-ryu karate in Okinawa wrote - 'The dojo is the place where courage is fostered and superior human nature is bred through the ecstasy of sweating in hard work. It is the sacred place where the human spirit is polished.' I like that. But the first challenge is building the dojo, which I will document over the next few weeks. I want to build a training hall that both fits purpose and a basic simple esthetic. A space that can evolve and be modified as the training needs evolve. And I've never attempted a build project on this scale before. So its going to be fun!!!