Aiki Visions
by Oleg Gorfinkel
Lately, I've noticed more poignantly than ever before that my enthusiasm about whatever I do (work, aikido, anything) depends not only on the pleasure that activity brings, but at least as much, on where it is taking me. In other words, I need to feel that, beyond enjoying the moment, I am actually going toward even better things. If I like something, I need to know at least that there is a chance for it to blossom and unfold.
I am familiar with the view that one should just "live the moment" and not worry about where it leads, but the reality for me--and, I think, for most of us--is that we are motivated and driven most strongly not by pleasure but by pragmatic, attainable vision--i.e. what we have to look forward to. It is this, I am sure, that accounts for the momentum I have felt lately in our dojo. People are attending more classes, practice harder, support dojo events faithfully, and contribute eagerly to the day-to-day running of our club.
So, what is it ahead of us that draws us on so powerfully? What is our vision? Well, let's see. Two years ago, about thirty of us practiced in a quadrant of the YMCA gym, with aerobics music blaring across a vinyl curtain, on mats that had to be set up before and cleared after every class. We had five early-morning classes a week and one on Sunday afternoon.YMCA cancelled that one in the end as part of its policy of "reducing the quantity and increasing the quality". As much as we considered ourselves a devoted, serious dojo, we could hardly get away from being merely one of the programs at the YMCA.
Our expansion to the Bloor Valley club has allowed us to offer noon-hour and evening classes, at the same time giving us a dedicated, permanent (with only occasional interruptions) space with an atmosphere that fosters serious, focused practice. Now, together with the YMCA program (which has continued all along), Aikido Shugyo Dojo's training schedule has grown to at least 21 classes a week--the most, I believe, of any aikido dojo in Toronto. It is much easier for new members to join the club, simply because they can now drop in at any time to watch or try out a few classes without making a commitment (before, only existing YMCA members had this privilege). In the meantime, a flurry of new hakamas has filled our dojo as a number of our students have attained the more senior ranks of 1st kyu and 1st dan and some experienced aikidoka from other dojos migrated over to practice with us. We have also grown organizationally, having become a non-profit corporation with an elected board of volunteer directors and a constitution.
An important part of our progress has been the new publicity and promotional programs. The introductory classes have been extremely successful, drawing a consistent crowd of new people on the first Tuesday of every month. A "sandwich board" sign, to be placed on Sherbourne Street in front of the entrance to the Bloor Valley club, is in the making. This promises to attract walk-in traffic (currently, there is nothing to tell passers-by that our dojo even exists). The Promotions Committee is working on other programs to bring in new members. The goal of all this is to build up the critical mass of dues-paying aikidoists--probably at least 60--needed for us to be able to (a) afford a space that will be reserved for ourselves alone, and (b) pay a salary to Fran Turner Sensei that is commesurate with her efforts. On the other hand, a group of members have been working on raising the capital required for renovations and improvements that will be required when we are ready to rent the new space.
Our own space, filled with dedicated, hard-practicing students, where Sensei Fran can teach full-time (and get properly remunerated for it), is, of course, our vision. "But", you may ask, "we already know all this. Why bother repeating it?" Well, a vision derives its power from being seen as pragmatic and attainable. In order to keep this perspective, I know that we need to hold this goal up continuously before our eyes, measuring our progress towards it, celebrating what we have achieved, and making sure that new students get a good feel for where we have come from, where we are, and where we are going.
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