Many of us are familiar with the Japanese term “do”, meaning “way”. We hear it over and over again. Different martial arts have adapted it in naming their styles, such as Iaido, Kendo or Aikido. Each of these lead the budoka on a certain path, they all show a particular way; not only in martial arts but also in life. From Japanese the word “Dojo” means a “place of the way”. It is a place where we develop our skills and sharpen our character. Therefore, we can say that a Dojo is a place of training. However, for us in Shisei Ryu it is much more. Apart from the physical and literal meaning of the word, we also think of it as of the people who create it. It is because of each individual the place exists in the first place and all of us combined together give the Dojo its unique atmosphere and character. Such a place is Seishin Dojo.
In Japanese language, Seishin means devoted heart/mind, true spirit. In Seishin Dojo we take this as our root philosophy, where each person is devoted to their training and school. Above all, we try to be true to each other in every aspect of our life, no matter how hard that seems in the time given to us. Throughout our training we upkeep tradition and base ourselves on the principals of our Dojo-Kun.
- Seek perfection of character
- Be sincere
- Endeavour
- Respect others
- Develop self control
It means that through regular training we improve ourselves and strive to respect people around us. We apply the above to all aspects of our lives.