| The first question I asked the founder of the | | | | endeavor to turn out graduates that attain |
| martial arts school when I interviewed as a | | | | high rank, some serving as instructors and |
| prospective student was whether he had | | | | others go on to open their own academies, |
| sufficient money on tap to stay around long | | | | with the approval and occasional assistance |
| enough for me to earn my Black Belt. | | | | and support of the sensei that trained them. |
| | | | |
| Stunned and slightly miffed by the question, | | | | In the case of my dojo, a hand scrawled sign |
| he said he did. | | | | appeared in the window saying the school had |
| | | | been "Stolen." |
| And true to his word, though he started and | | | | |
| personally managed an additional branch on | | | | Apparently, renegade instructors and managers |
| the East coast, after eight years of study | | | | took the student body to a secret location in |
| and hard work I was awarded the rank of | | | | a neighboring town, and opened a new |
| Shodan, 1st degree Black Belt, in Kenpo | | | | enterprise, there. In doing so, they undid |
| Karate. | | | | about 35 years of hard work and left the |
| | | | founder with an unpaid lease and other bills |
| But that isn't the end of the story. | | | | that he had to handle while being a continent |
| | | | away. |
| Two years later, I phoned the dojo to wish | | | | |
| Happy Holidays to all, and I heard a | | | | The disappearance of the original dojo has |
| recording that told me I had reached a | | | | created a lot more victims, burdening those |
| disconnected number. | | | | that were close to testing for their next |
| | | | belt level. Where will they study and |
| I was shocked. | | | | practice? |
| | | | |
| Most martial arts academies revere traditions | | | | If they believe the mutineers are |
| and are proud to announce that they've been | | | | blameworthy, how can these "Ronin" i.e. |
| teaching for 25, 35 or more years, so when | | | | suddenly "Master-less Samurai," in good |
| they suddenly disappear, it's like hearing | | | | conscience, join the miscreants at the new |
| that the high school you graduated from was | | | | locale? |
| plowed under to make room for a shopping | | | | |
| mall. | | | | We'll explore the options for "orphaned" |
| | | | martial artists in a future article. |
| Dojos aren't supposed to simply vanish. They | | | | |