The World Is Your Dojo

I hear it all the time…

People tell me how they really want to practice martial arts, but they just don’t have the time, the money, or a teacher. They’re too old, too young, or too out of shape.

Sound familiar? If it does, then I have a message I’d like you to remember…

PFFT!

Check out this video to find out why! 🙂

The World Is Your Dojo

When I was a young man, I wanted to learn martial arts, but I didn’t have any money, or the internet, or a car. I didn’t even have a driver’s license. But here’s what I did have… a library card and a punching bag.

Actually, it’s wasn’t even a real punching bag. I found a sack in the basement, filled it with old sheets and clothes, tied it together with a bike lock, and threw it over a rafter in the garage.

And training partners? Just the few friends I could talk into coming over to spar a few rounds.

Now, you may think that training from books in a garage with friends was a waste of time, but you’d be wrong. I learned a lot back then. You know why?

Because a student is a student. If you want to learn, you will find a way to learn.

And if all you can do today is stand up where you are and start throwing some punches, then stand up where you are and start throwing some punches. Just don’t hit anybody.

Of course, training in my garage had its limitations. Especially when my friends stopped answering my phone calls. So, when I finally got my driver’s license, I went out and joined an official school and I’ve been driving all over town and paying good money to take classes ever since. But here’s the funny thing—

—nothing changed!

When I think of all the breakthroughs in my martial arts training, many of the most important lessons were not learned in a dojo. They were learned in campgrounds, coffee shops, parking lots, and church halls.

And even though I’ve been lucky enough to learn from many smart and patient teachers along the way, the truth is I’ve learned just as much talking with family, friends, strangers, jerks, and even kids.

Here’s the point—if you are a real student of the martial arts, you will learn anywhere, anytime, and from anyone. You don’t need to be standing in a dojo or a gym.

Wherever you are right now, that’s your dojo. Whatever you’re wearing right now, that’s your uniform. Whoever you’re with, that’s your teacher. And whatever you’re doing, that’s your lesson.

So, when you can get to class, absolutely, get to class! But when you can’t, don’t let a lack of time, money, transportation, or access stop you from learning and growing.

Every place is a classroom.

Every person is a teacher.

Every moment is a lesson.

If you are a martial artist, approach the day the same as you approach a class. Commit yourself to being your best and fighting with all your heart at all times.

Martial arts is not what you do, it’s who you are. Martial arts isn’t just learning how to fight, it’s learning how to live.

Yes, how you practice on the mats can change how you live off the mats. But it works the other way, too. At least it should!

How you live off the mats should influence how you train on the mats. Each day of your life, you are running drills and being put to the test.

You’re always building your character.

You’re always training your awareness, your sensitivity, your emotional control, your resolve, your decisiveness.

You’re always expressing yourself and managing relationships, which is all a fight really is—a relationship.

When you think about martial arts as a way of life and not just a workout, you realize that the world is your dojo. And that means you never miss a class. In fact, your class is running right now.

So, if you want to be the best you can be, be a student—a good student. Learn everywhere and from everyone.

And the next time you bow out after class, don’t think of it as bowing out of the dojo… think of it as bowing into the world.