[seienchin]

Great post Gary - and I agree with every bit of it. It needs to be remembered that there is also an element in the "old" way that attracted people with sadistic personalities. I have certainly seen that acted out. It is not a good thing when a dojo student is passing blood in his urine because of a "lesson" a higher grade thought he needed, to teach him "spirit".

I think the dojo kun enunciates much of what I regard as "spirit", and actually deliberately and explicitly repudiates violence. It is funny, but reciting it after each class (and even embedding some bits of it into your class explanations) has a profound effect on what your students come to see as valuable and worthwhile in karate. Note, it makes no mention of being "best" or "strongest".

I had a former student seeking out a dojo in Berlin recently. She found one that she felt had the right "attitude", and when she showed me their web-page, the dojo marketing was built around the dojo kun. She understood the words and concepts in German, and it resonated with her. (She just didn't recognise the dojo kun in German). When she subsequently attended, it met with her expectations, because not only the marketing, but the dojo values, were built around the dojo kun.