General Information
Title: In The DojoAuthor: Dave Lowry
Format: Large format (5.5"x8.5") Paperback
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 207
ISBN: 0-8348-0572-3
Price: $17
Summary
In The Dojo places the dojo at the center of this narrative on
architectural elements, rituals, training, and personal philosophies of
the Japanese martial arts. The author covers what to expect on
visiting a dojo for the first time, what to expect and what will be
expected of you when you begin training and what your teacher-student
relationship might consist of. Lowry also covers the traditional and
modern dress found in the dojo as well as the religious and spiritual
aspects contained in the dojo itself.
High Point
- The short chapter on the Martial Language and how it differs from language used outside of the dojo.
- The confrontation between Araki Murashige and his shogun Oda Nobunaga.
- The chapter on The Dojo Year which speaks about observed holidays throughout the year traditionally by the dojo.
- The Glossary
Low Point
- I believe the book gets a week start. I did not find the beginning introductory or first chapter gripping or inspiring.
- I would have liked to have seen summaries of what was covered at the end of each chapter.
- No index.
The Scores
Presentation (4.2 out of 4.2): The presentation is very
well done. The book is a nice size with an earthy cover tone
incorporating a vertically split Japanese and English theme. The back
cover is well laid out, easy to read, and very descriptive of the
contents of the book. The text is large and very readable.Clarity (4.2 out of 4.2): The text is comprehensible and clear. The author spends ample time explaining Japanese terms and writes in a very straight forward manner.
Structure (3 out of 4.2): The structure of the book is very good. The book is broken out into 13 chapters of nicely sized chunks plus an introduction and glossary. I will dock it some for lacking an index and chapter summaries.
Examples (3 out of 4.2): The intention of this book was never
to convey examples of physical training, however it does give good
motivational examples and one historical example in the confrontation
between Araki Murashige and his shogun Oda Nobunaga. That being said,
examples of traditional training techniques one would find in the dojo
could have been included.
Completeness (1 out of 4.2): On completion of the book I did not feel that everything about the dojo had been covered.
I felt that comparisons should have been made between the modern day
dojo and a more traditional (i.e. classic) dojo. I would
have liked to have been presented with details on what
distinguishes a Japanese dojo from a gym, dojang, McDojo, etc. I would
have also liked to have seen chapters on architecture and even a
chapter on duplicating the atmosphere of the dojo on your own using
western methods and supplies. As an example of what is missing, the
traditional tatami mat was not mentioned at all in the book. For a
book entitled "In The Dojo," these are the first chapters that should
have been written.
Editing (4.2 out of 4.2): The editing was well done as I found no memorable flaws in the book on first reading.
Value (4.2 out of 4.2): This book will look good on my shelf (as I mentioned before, it has a beautifully crafted cover) and has lots of good historical information which I may have use for in the future. For around $17 this is a good buy but not a must have.
Overall (3 out of 4.2): Overall this was a well done book. I am a little biased since I picked up the book with the desire to learn more about how to make my training area feel more like a traditional dojo. I can see this book being used by instructors as supplemental material for their students. I can also see this book as being useful to the instructor. It would teach them how to enhance the teacher-student relationship, define and explain traditions found in the dojo such as the act of bowing, and how to maintain a more traditional dojo environment. If instructors could learn one thing from this book, it would be for them to insist that their students contribute to the maintenance and cleaning of the dojo that they spend so much time in.
"In The Dojo" receives a very respectable 33.8 out of a possible 42.
Additional Notes and Comments
"During your day outside the dojo, you had one opportunity to approach the tasks that needed tending. One opportunity to interact with others. In the dojo, it is the same. This practice session came only once in your life. Next time, even if it is the next evening, you will be different; the lesson will be different." - Dave Lowry
Being back in school after being out for several years and having some real world experience under my belt has really paid off. My study and organization habits are probably better now than they have ever been, even if my memory hasn't improved. My observation skills are much more attuned and I feel I can focus on the important tidbits at hand. Being interested in the subject also helps. For the past few years I have been dedicating at least one hour 3 nights a week to practicing the Martial Arts. I also spend a few hours each week just reading on the subject (weblogs, magazines, and books) and an hour or two watching videos (DVDs, TV shows, and online material). Last night while preparing for next weeks inevitable test that will begin class, I realized that I have not taken one very important study technique that I use for the classroom and applied it to my Martial Arts studies.
The Martial Arts are very much a physical activity. But they also posses a long history, complicated nomenclatures, and more than enough physics of body movement. The nomenclature doesn't just limit itself to basic movement terms in the art's native language, it extends to physics concepts and translated terms. Typically the more common terms that accompany the physical movements are easily learned. However, few students even at the black belt level ever dig deeply into the history of their art form, say more than would fill an article in a magazine or encyclopedia entry. Fewer still will ever encounter the raw physics of the art, laid open with all its scientific terminology.
These aspects of the art interest me now much more than the native language terms for the basic movements of the art form(1). I routinely pick up books that delve deeply into the history and physics of the martial arts. I read them in hopes that some of the knowledge I gain can be passed along to others. I realized last night that what I have been doing may have been futile. In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a brilliant but misguided king who sometimes used trickery to get what he wanted. Sisyphus seduced his niece, took his brother's throne and betrayed Zeus's secrets to name just a few. For a short time he was even able to come back from Tartarus, effectively avoiding death through the use of his wit and trickery. Once the gods had had enough, they condemned him to eternal hard labor. His punishment was rolling a boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down to the bottom each time he neared the top. This was the feeling that started to sink into me, a feeling of unrewarded labor. My goal has simply been to read as much on the Martial Arts as I could. Each book I read was another feather in my cap, a weapon in my arsenal of knowledge... I was stocking weapons, but I didn't stop to realize that I hadn't stocked any ammunition. Although I was receiving entertainment value out of what I was reading, I wasn't retaining the knowledge. A few bits of trivia here and there to be sure, but a large amount is simply buried somewhere deep in the brain to never be seen again.
What I've been missing is that I have been reading the material in the same way that I read science-fiction and fantasy novels for entertainment purposes. I should have been reading them more like I read books for a class where I will be taking a test on the material that I cover. Granted, not all of the knowledge will stay around permanently, but more of it will and what will fade will take longer to disperse. How is the way I read for memorization different than for entertainment? When reading material in preparation for a test I take the following steps:
- I check to see if the book is in audio format. If it is I get it and listen to the entire book all the way through at least once.
- If Cliff Notes are available I will pick these up as well for additional coverage.
- A week before the exam I read the material that the exam will
cover, I will also locate and listen to the audio portion if available.
During this reading I do not take notes.
- I then go back over the material and locate the main topics. I
filter out any topics that I know are not pertinent to the course.
Pertinent ideas I write down in outline form (though Concept Mapping(2)
may work better for some), trying to keep entire ideas in a compressed
and paraphrased notation. After each entry I make sure to write down
the page where the idea is expressed for quick reference. I also make
sure to label each section with the title and number of the chapter.
This helps when reviewing the material in class. If the material wasn't
dictated by the class I make sure to record bibliographic information
as well.
- I type these up into a very readable document that I can print out if needed or keep on my PDA.
- I review these notes once per day before the exam, this is just a quick read through for repetition (similar to the way I maintain Karate techniques).
- If time permits I read through the material one last time.
So, will I change my reading habits? I don't know, reading in this manner requires taking detailed notes and reviewing those notes on a regular basis. It extends the amount of time required by a significant factor. I will certainly attempt it in the near future and report my findings, although I think I know what the outcome will be. At the very least I have realized that not all work is noble. What is noble is to strive toward the best we can be(3), not toward just any accomplishment for its own sake.
1) As an asside, I really no longer care if I learn and pass on the Japanese terms for high block,
punch, kick, etc. There is too much material to learn as it is and
learning the native language terms does not add to the final results. At best it makes for a slightly more mystic experience for
visitors and new students.
2) Concept Mapping - http://www.studygs.net/mapping/mapping.htm
3) Self-actualization - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_actualization
I've been meaning to post on this video(1&2) for a while. Essentially, 7 men in DaVinci's Pizza in Akron, Ohio witness one man relentlessly attack another man without interfering. The prosecutor, Sherri Bevan Walsh, was able to use video captured on the pizza parlor's security cameras to convict the attacker, Mark Jones on a felony assault charge and Christine Simms as his accomplice. They received a 4 year jail term and 2 years of probation respectively.
The same video footage that Walsh used to convict Jones can give us a bit of insight into what went on that night. I've watched the video several times now and I can honestly say that no one, NO ONE, did anything right. The scene begins to unfold with Christine Simms entering the pizza place and proceeding to the counter, next to the front of a long line. Now I don't know what she was thinking. Perhaps she had just walked out with her pizza and came back for condiments, maybe she wanted a job application, maybe her sister worked there and she wanted to ask the cashier if she was working that shift, maybe she was cutting line. I honestly don't know what she was doing or thinking, and neither did Joseph Sarpino, a man in the middle of the line talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone.
Talking on a cell phone while standing in line is acceptable only if it is a short conversation. Anything longer than a quick question/answer session is just rude to those around you. Using it to comment on the rude behavior of others around you is just poor etiquette and in this case stupid to boot. If he had a problem with someone cutting line, he should have quietly brought it to the manager's attention. Instead he complains loudly about it to his girlfriend on the phone. Christine, the women who had apparently cut line, overheard this. When confronted by Christine, Joseph should have put down the phone and attempted to carry on a civil conversation with her. But he didn't.
Christine may have felt a desire to confront Joseph, but there really was no need to confront him. Furthermore, if she did have a valid reason for cutting to the front of the line, she only needed to explain that to Joseph in a calm and collected manner. There was no need for the matter to escalate any further. But it did.
Step in the manager. This is his place of business and he is responsible for what goes on in it. He should have immediately intervened and either brought the tension down, or asked the customers to accompany him to his office where they could work things out. Once there it would have been easy enough to offer them both a free pizza to smooth things out or, alternatively, offer to call the local constable to help sort matters through. If this wasn't possible, then the police should have been called immediately and the irate customers informed of the fact that they were on their way and would handle the situation from there. But he didn't.
Enter the boy friend, Mark. Christine makes physical contact with Joseph. Two pokes to his face none the less. This should not have happened. Now of course Joseph gets angry and finally hangs up his cell phone. Better late than never I suppose, but now he is upset and advances on Christine with a full blown shouting match. What Mark should have done was told Christine to calm down and escorted her out of the establishment. What he did instead was inexcusable. He stepped between Christine and Joseph, which in and of itself is understandable, but he didn't do it so much as to protect his girl friend, but rather to prepare for a fight with Joseph. A guy he easily could have bench pressed. Mark then sucker punches Joseph. During the entire confrontation Joseph had not laid a hand on anyone and was clearly no threat to either Christine or Mark. Mark had put himself in a bad situation and was in a bad position to defend himself when the punch came. He should have been prepared. But he wasn't.
The fight was over before it had really begun. The first two punches were all it took to buckle Joseph's knees. Mark could have turned and walked out at that point. Instead he continues to punch and beat on Joseph. At least 5 more times, Mark has to go so far as to hold Joseph up to hit him. I can't imagine what type of person would find the need to attack someone in this situation. I can't imagine why Christine would have allowed Mark to continue beating on Joseph, why neither of them realized that what was transpiring was not a good thing and would result in very bad things for them I do not know. What I do know though is that for what seems like an eternity, 7 other men in the room watch as Mark throws four years of his life away for half a dozen punches. Let me rephrase that, not only are the 7 men that are watching not helping Joseph, they are not helping Mark by stopping him. They should have done something. But they didn't.
Now, I don't think for a moment that any of those men wanted to be the target of Mark's rage (I actually believe it was Pluralistic Ignorance(3) that caused them to not act rather than fear of personal harm). But at the same time I know they needed to do something. If just one of those men had looked at one of the other men in the room and said "You and I need to do something now!" that would have been enough to have gotten a movement of some sort. I don't think a physical confrontation with Mark was even necessary. If someone had just tried to *reason* with him in a forceful manner it might have been enough for him to come to his senses. "Look, this guy Joseph is a stupid jerk, I don't think he will make the same mistake again! Mark, let him apologize!" This may have calmed Mark down enough to stop or slow down the fight until the police arrived.
So many things went wrong and nothing went right in this situation. If just one of the participants had used a little fore thought the entire situation could have been avoided. The key lesson here is if you find yourself in an awkward situation, think first! If you find yourself witnessing such a situation, think first, but then act! Remember though that your actions, as well as those around you, will be guided by the Bystander Effect(4), a phenomenon in which someone is less likely to intervene in an emergency situation when other people are present and able to help. But also remember that in a group situation, the individuals in the group will tend to follow each other with a type of Herd Mentality(5). If you can think your way through the situation enough to act (overcoming the Bystander Effect), and pull others into your action plan by making direct eye contact, pointing and using addressing terms such as a name or "you" rather than "someone" or "anyone", others will follow your instructions.
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMIuG3HvV0Y&mode=related&search=
2. http://www.frikid.com/showVideo.php?lid=896
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluralistic_ignorance
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_mentality
