BBT/Ninpo Training "style"

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pknox

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Just curious...

I've noticed that a lot of BBT dojos tend to operate in public spaces, such as YMCA's, community centers, and public parks. In addition, students often open up "training groups" that either supplement the training elsewhere, or stand alone. I've also noticed that in most cases, training sessions, whether in a dojo or training group, are offered less frequently than at the schools that teach more "commercial" arts - i.e. maybe once or twice a week vs. almost every day at your local school located in a permanent facility.

This got me to wondering -- did this just work out this way, or is it by design? I would imagine that some of the more higher ranking Shidoshi could build permanent dojos if they really wanted to, but perhaps they prefer to teach this way. Are there advantages to training this way that make people voluntarily decide that teaching in this fashion is the best way to go? Personally, I could think of 3 things that might make this structure more advantageous:

1. It encourages students to practice on their own, thus developing self-discipline.

2. It encourages students to pursue interests outside the dojo, whether other arts or non-martial arts related activities, thus producing a more well-rounded individual.

3. By not having a permanent structure, you are free to train outside in the elements; also, not paying rent (or paying one that would be cheaper than having a permanent, dedicated facility)keeps costs down, making lessons more affordable, and therefore available to more people.

I'm especially interested in what people who lead training groups or run dojos have to say. This model is different than what I'm used to, but the more I see it, the more I'm beginning to like it. I'm just kind of wondering how it came to be.
 

Cryozombie

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Well, all I can say is If a school is non-commercial, the instructor has to have a "real" income. We train less often becuase my instructor works, and has to do his regular job.

:D

Damn those jobs.
 
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pknox

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Good point, but what I'm wondering is if he would continue to train/teach the way he does even if he didn't need to work for a living, because there is something advantageous to the whole setup.
 

Cryozombie

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While I cant speak for him, from what I know of him I believe he would in fact teach more often.
 

KyleShort

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In my old dojo we were big on training outdoors because it was fun and exposed us to different environments. Also, we liked to train in the parking lot because we were at the intersection of two major streets and it served as effective advertising =)

I too notice this trend in training...however, I have also noticed that many instructors would train / teach more if they could afford too. My instructors would have much prefered to run a dojo full time.

This topic deserves some research.
 

KyleShort

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Just thought I'd add the note that I only trained Bujinkan so I can't speak for other schools (but the topic of this thread was BBT so that's ok). Also, I only went to buyo's and worked with instructors on the west coast.
 

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