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Copenhagen Aiki
Shuren Dojo
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After deciding to
start my own dojo, I spent a lot of time trying to
find the right name. The problem is that I would
like to have the name that I choose to be approved
by my Sensei, and this is sadly not possible. And
yet…
There is a saying in Japanese “Todai moto kurashi.”
It means “Living beneath the lighthouse.” It is the
equivalent of the English “You can’t see the forest
for the trees.”
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At a summer camp in Denmark several years ago, I was
helping one of my Swedish friends translate an
interview with Sensei. One of the questions was what
Sensei thought would be a good name for a dojo. I
remember this was a question asked specifically
because Mats, the interviewer, was going to start
his own dojo.
But Sensei meant the answer to be in general, as
well. His answer was “Aiki Shuren Dojo.” This was
the name of the Iwama dojo.
Now it´s called the Ibaraki Shibu dojo, but the name
that was written on the old wooden signpost reads
Aiki Shuren Dojo.
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| Photo: Thomas
Hansen |
Aiki Shuren Dojo is used by several dojos in
different parts of the world, all of whom have been
inspired by Saito Sensei. I must admit, for a while
I wanted to find a brand new name for my dojo. But
the more I thought about it the more sense it made
to me to use the name Sensei recommended.
I went to the Aiki Shuren Dojo in Iwama for the
first time in 1984, when I was 26 years old, after
eight years of Aikido practice. This was the
beginning of my student-teacher relationship with
Saito Sensei. I have been going back ever since
then, for the last time in 2001. I have cleaned the
toilets, fixed the shoji screens, cut the grass,
done kitchen duty and so much more. The dojo has
felt like home to me.
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