Dojo Buddies

[mandy003]

i have made some great mates in the four years of studying MA from all over England. One of the girls that i have became really good friends with goes to my school, but before she started i didn't even know she went to my school. But now we are really good friends and hang out at school, at karate and outside of school and karate. I also have another good friend but she lives out of my area so i can only really talk to her via phone or when i go training at her club. But i can honestly say that i get on with most people but, i have never had an argument with my friends from karate because we are so alike and have alot in common. Before i met them i never had anyone to talk to that would understand what i was talking about, but now i do and its great!!!!!!!!!

[IAMA_chick]

our school is SO close. well, not everone, but a lot of us. i hang out with a lot of people outside of class. we have a christmas party, a pumpkin party, and summer picnic a canoe trip, and we also go to the bluegrass nationals. i also hang out with like my instructor with a few other people like on the week end sometimes and stuff. we also always go out to eat after sparring class. we are definately a social martial art school. we are really close.

[jake]

were all really close friends where i train. all of my best friends are there. id probably have one friend if i didnt take class. everyone there is awesome!!

[karate_woman]

I don't hang out with people from the dojo. When I first started in Midland it was probably because I was the only person from my high school there, and we really didn't associate much with kids from other high schools ( rivalries). There also weren't a lot of teenagers at that dojo anyway, and adults don't generally hang out with teenagers.

 

When I started in Barrie, there weren't very many students because Sensei had just started and was developing his student base. When he got more students they were just getting out of high school and I was married anyway and really didn't hang out with anyone but my family when I wasn't at the dojo. Now I'm returning again but all the people I used to train with hardly ever come anymore, because now it is their turn for "life to take over", and I'm married (again), and a lot of them are really young teenagers so I probably wouldn't hang out with any of them (nor they me)anyway.

 

My first Sensei (also my present Sensei's Sensei)used to say all the time that she had lots of acquaintances and people she was friendly with, but no-one she was actually friends with outside the dojo. I think she also purposely kept her distance from the students as she felt it wasn't good to be too familiar with the students; friendly, yes, but not familiar.