I’ve been thinking about what our first blog post should be, then it hit me (no pun intended). Almost everyone’s initial anxiety about beginning training is not knowing what to expect when they walk in. Here I’ll attempt to ease any fears and paint a picture of what your first, and typical, class may look like.It can be a scary thing, walking into your first dojo training. You don’t know what the instructor expects of you. What the other students expect. What you, yourself should expect. Guess what… every person in that room has had to walk in for the first time, with the same anxieties. And the truth? No one in that room really has any expectations of you, save one: listen to the instructor, and try to follow along. Afraid you’ll look dumb? We’ve all looked dumb. Some of us still do, and we’ve been training for years! Bottom line is, when you are learning something new, you’re probably going to look and feel awkward. No one expects any different.
So — let’s just get this out of the way: you may look dumb and uncoordinated the first time. Everyone does. No one is going to laugh at you. We’re all here to learn together, and help each other get better. Feel better? Good. Now, what does a typical class look like? Glad you asked. Usually a few minutes of stretching before actual class time. Sometimes when new people arrive, a more senior student will show you our typical stretches. Next, is the “bow in”. Teacher is at the front (usually facing east), students line up behind him, right to left. Don’t worry, someone will guide you. There will be some words in Japanese, two claps, one bow, one more clap, one more bow. The teacher turns to face the students, more Japanese words and a bow. Then we get started.
After the bow in, we’ll begin class. Normally we have some brief warm ups to get the blood flowing and loosen up. These may sometimes look easier than they are. Don’t stress — we do them almost every class — you’ll get the hang of it. The last part of “warm ups” generally includes the Kihon Happo. These are 8 fundamental techniques that are sometimes considered the basis of all we do. Now we can really get started. What’s next? Who knows! Whatever the instructor is working on, personally; any questions posed by the students; basics/fundamentals. Every class brings something different — so it’s almost always interesting.
After a while, the instructor will call an end to class, and we’ll repeat the bow in procedure as a bow out procedure. That’s it. First class over. Feel better? So do I. Come on back next time and we’ll do it all again! Any questions? Comment below, or send us a message!
がんばってください！