Carrying the Baton(s).

Many of the Kokikai community traveled to Japan this April to train with Sensei. Our dojo was fortunate enough to have four of our senior practitioners make the trek. When I arrived at Sensei's dojo for the first of four days of training I was a bit early. I got to speak briefly with Sensei and he talked about Kokikai and how we need to work together. He joked that he traveled to teach in the US and to Australia for the past 50 years and it was now our turn to travel. As he often has, he spoke about the importance of the next generation of practitioners needing to carry on the legacy of Kokikai, to further the community, and to continue to develop the art. He made the analogy of a relay race. He said that he is now in the process of passing on the baton to us. I heard the conversation repeated several times that weekend as he spoke with senior students from both the US and Australia. 

 

I like the analogy of the baton. It invokes the idea of being a team. Each person who carries it is responsible for firmly and securely passing it on to the next. No individual needs to carry the entire race, just do their best for their part. Every time we come together in the dojo is an opportunity to implement this idea. We pass on what we know and have learned, regardless of where we are on the track. We share the responsibility of success.

Like in nature, patterns repeat at different scales. Within the dojo, members share what they know. From that, regional dojo share practices. Whole nations of practitioners regularly come together at camps. People from all over the world come together to practice like we just did in Japan. When we return to our home dojo, we repeat the cycle of improvement.

For that I am ever grateful. Thanks to all who made it out to make our regional practice a success and share in what we learned in Japan!!

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