To train in a dojo, dojang, kwoon, or other martial arts institute or academy means you are entering a social community. In reality, you cannot truly practice or learn martial arts entirely by yourself. When you join a dojo, you are joining a group of people in their collective pursuit of knowledge and understanding.
If you progress beyond the basics, you realize you learn more about yourself. You learn a mode of thinking, solving problems, and relating to others in a new and different way. You can begin to evolve beyond your simple ego.
Bushin Martial Arts Academy and John Nguyen are the embodiment of this idea.
This dojo has and continues to cultivate a culture of respect, humility, discipline, and a selfless desire to share insight and experience. Generally, a dojo cannot continue to exist without those things. Bushin students exhibit these qualities because the instructor demonstrates those qualities.
The path to this type of development is drawn through the curriculum. Bushin’s curriculum is Gracie Jiu Jitsu (GJJ). GJJ was created to give practitioners competence in a safe, efficient, and proven system. Bushin delivers this methodology in a standardized, certified, and institutionalized manner. There’s no eastern mysticism or cults of personality; just the cold logic of physics and bio-mechanical engineering.
Having been a lifetime devotee of striking and weapons martial arts from a variety of schools, I was immediately impressed by Bushin’s ordered and consistent methodology. No talk of Dim Mak, chi, ki, chakras, etc. here. Just science. And no face punching, eye gouging, or groin kicking. It is always about control and precise technique; not about aggressive competition or rage. It is about survival and resolution, not domination or conquest.
The process of mastery takes hold over time, gradual progression, and deep practice; not speed and intensity. As a new student, you weren’t given a deluge of complex techniques and then thrown into the Lion’s Den of combat. Only a very few could ever learn like that. Because of all of this, training at Bushin is safe. Safety was stressed not just for one individual but for the entire training community.
And with respect to hygiene, Bushin is the cleanest martial arts school I have ever trained in. Not because we clean the mats after every class, but because each student is held to high standards of uniform and personal hygiene. This is vitally important since the nature of GJJ requires close physical contact.
The kind of personal development I experience at Bushin is disproportionate to what I pay per month. I receive far more than what I give. For the same amount as I paid as a beginner, I train more than twice as much, because I am now an advanced student. The value exists for those who are willing to commit themselves. For proven members of the Bushin community, training is a bargain. GJJ is not a vending machine in which you insert coins and belts come out of the chute. Nor are you paying for a personal venue to express your individualism at the expense of the group. The fees you pay do not go toward aggrandizing anyone, it goes toward creating a community which will 1) help and support you to absorb the knowledge and apply its principles; and 2) give you the opportunity to help and support others, which in turn supports the first point.
If you love Jiu Jitsu, you can find all kinds of ways to enjoy it. If you want real growth in the martial arts, you should find a community that supports your learning to defend yourself practically and realistically; develops your social skills and situational awareness; and encourages a healthy life style. Once you find this group: assimilate, cooperate, and contribute. That is what I have found at Bushin Martial Arts Academy.
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Posted 10 years ago
