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View Full Version : After A 7 Year Run.... One Final Act: A Dojo's Story



Jason Chambers
9th January 2001, 00:40
A friend of mine and I started a dojo together back in January of 1993. It was to be an Isshin Ryu & Jujutsu school. Throught the next few years to follow, we would see Isshin Ryu interest diminish in the already small community where we opened.

Shortly after, our partner and Isshin Ryu instructor left due to a conflict of ideals as to which direction the school should take. We still operated as an Isshin Ryu school and brought other black belts in to rank our senior students to at least Shodan. That idea was doomed from the start and soon we were back where we were with no Isshin Ryu black belt.

In mid 1994, the decision was made to change to a more generic program of karate which worked quite well. Enrollment picked up. Students would still come and go, but that is the nature of the beast I suppose... All in all, we saw our stats improve. We were still offering Jujutsu but the folks who were coming to the dojo weren't interested in learning "traditional" jujutsu. Again, a change. We began to combine the karate and the jujutsu together into one program, taking out the "traditional" aspects. This did not sit well with me but I endured.

That very next year my partner had devised a strategy that was supposed to see us each a profit of $300 each month. The plan failed and we continued to generate just enough revenue to support the dojo. I left the dojo at the end of 1995 when I got married.

Over the next two years, I kept in touch with my friend to see how things were going. They were still about the same, save for the addition of a former Tang Soo Do instructor and a new program.

In 1997, I was asked to return and be an "advisory member" of thier newly created Board of Directors. What the heck?! Right? I went back. The dojo was still self sufficient and my role was limited to maintaining a web presence and publishing. I wanted to keep it that way. ;)

With the coming of Y2K, and after teaching, advising and teaching some more, I decided to join a formal organization and further my own training.

My friend/partner has maintained the dojo to this day and several students that were there when we opened are still there today. But unfortunately, the dojo's future is cloudy and there has been talk of closing up shop after a 7 year run... :(

I am wondering if any of you have had similar instances where you feel that your efforts just are worht it anymore... just as he feels. He blames low enrollment as a main issue, but it is just the time of the year. That offers him little comfort. It saddens me to see him this way. His school has always been his dream. I spoke with him the other day and he looks as if he has just found out the truth about Santa. You know? The gleam in his eye is gone.

I have since begun to do "my own thing" and have some success. I think that bothers him too.

What can one do to empower him to continue to pursue his dream?

Paul Mathews
9th January 2001, 20:20
Bottom line, Jason, is that whatever is going to motivate your friend to continue is going to have to be intrinsic rather than extrinsic.

From experience, I offer the following. Encourage your buddy to examine his original purpose(s) for starting the dojo. Has he achieved what he set out to do initially? Are his purposes today the same as they were seven years ago? If he has accomplished any of his goals, has it been worth the cost to him personally? Only he can truly answer those questions. The answers should help provide him with a basis for making a decision about not just whether he wants to continue, but also how he would like to continue.

The only other advice that I can offer is that your friend may want to take a sabbatical; distance himself from the situation in order to honestly and objectively evaluate his situation and his motivations. His current low student population makes that more feasible than if his enrollment were high. Of course, this is assuming that the dojo is not his primary source of income.

Whatever your friend decides to do, I'm sure you will be supportive whether you agree with him or not.

Thomas Wahl
16th January 2001, 09:51
Hi Kokujin!

Interesting Story. I found it interesting, because I was in danger to run into the same situation. Since September 1995 I run a Ninjutsu-School here in southern Germany. In the beginning I had a friend who was also my partner. He was also my training partner for the last 5 years before the opening. Well we both picked up alot of studends. We started the (commercial) dojo with 17 students and after 6 months or so we had about 50 students. But after 15 months the studentpopulation was going down. We both had also our differences concerning the way of teaching and management. So after two years my partner left the dojo in Sept. '97. At first I was quite sad about this. But today when I look back, I think, that it was very good.

Now I had the opportunity to do it how I wanted it. I made alot of adds in local newspapers, beginner-courses, opened a women selfdefense class,... Since that time my students-population is growing (small but steady). I do the most things by myself and exactly how I want them.

What is very important maybe to know is, that I don't teach Ninjutsu in a pure traditionall way. The traditionall way is ok, there is nothing wrong about it. But it doesn't attract so many students. So I combine it with other things (Boxing, JKD, grappling) and let the people work out and sweat in the training. Of course I also teach alot of traditionall stuff (it is a important base to understand the "modern stuff"). I do it as a nice mixture, the students never know exactly know, with what I will come up in the next class (like at the dentist :D). This workes quite well.

The most important thing is, that this is the way, I want to teach! And I want, the students to learn that. And I think, that this the students feel.
The next thing I would never do is to let people of other martial arts teach in my dojo. Maybe people of arts like Qi-Gong, Feldenkrais, Tai-Chi or Yoga. For that I had teachers in the past, but they where not so successfull.
Bringing up other MA is confusing the people outside.

It's always difficult to run a school with two teachers. One has to be the boss!! I saw that in many other schools which were run by to bosses. It always led to problems. Even when they were very good friends.

Maybe this was a help for You and Your friend?
I hope so.