" Are you so content with your life of safety and comfort that eating and sleeping are enough for you?" - Man of La Mancha
Training and the Budokan
Membership:
The Florida Budokan is a private budō school (Budō Senmon Gakkō, 武道専門学校) with three dojos: Makoto Dojo for karate, Seibukan Dojo for kyudo, and Kashimon Dojo for iaido. Although we are privately operated, we are committed to an inclusive and welcoming training community.
If you are interested in training, please contact us through the Contact Us page or message us on Facebook or Instagram. We will arrange a conversation in person, by phone, or by email to learn about your goals and help you decide whether our training is a good fit. As we are a non-commercial dojo, Please arrange your visit in advance rather than walking in.
Visitors who wish to observe a class must bring a valid driver’s license or other photo ID. New students may try up to three classes before deciding whether to continue.
Students begin as seito. After completing a probationary period and earning the required promotion, a seito may apply to become a deshi (apprentice) at black belt. Deshi have earned a position of trust in the dojo. Upon reaching shodan, they may also study a second art. We hope that, in time, our deshi will become the next generation of sensei.
Membership:
The Florida Budokan is a private budō school (Budō Senmon Gakkō, 武道専門学校) with three dojos: Makoto Dojo for karate, Seibukan Dojo for kyudo, and Kashimon Dojo for iaido. Although we are privately operated, we are committed to an inclusive and welcoming training community.
If you are interested in training, please contact us through the Contact Us page or message us on Facebook or Instagram. We will arrange a conversation in person, by phone, or by email to learn about your goals and help you decide whether our training is a good fit. As we are a non-commercial dojo, Please arrange your visit in advance rather than walking in.
Visitors who wish to observe a class must bring a valid driver’s license or other photo ID. New students may try up to three classes before deciding whether to continue.
Students begin as seito. After completing a probationary period and earning the required promotion, a seito may apply to become a deshi (apprentice) at black belt. Deshi have earned a position of trust in the dojo. Upon reaching shodan, they may also study a second art. We hope that, in time, our deshi will become the next generation of sensei.
Traditional Karatedo class at Florida Budokan in Central Florida
Training:
Students must be willing to put forth strong effort in the process of spiritual forging (Seishin Tanren), in which they evolve from a student (Seito) to an apprentice (Deshi). Since Budo is taught and learned through a close relationship between teacher (Sensei) and student, the attitude, trust and skill of the student determine his/her progress. Unless one can eliminate the distracting influence of egotistical thoughts and train sincerely, one will not succeed.
Seito literally means "life assistant" and it refers to a person with less experience. When you first enter the dojo, there is an interest to find out more about the martial art practiced. As a beginner, you tentatively start out on a path, but do not really have an idea where it may lead. Motivation is usually external.
Once you join the dojo, be open minded, maintain a good attitude and attend class regularly. Both attitude and attendance are vital; attitude equals mind and attendance equals body. Mind and body are equal in the Ways. Attending every practice session with a closed and resistant mind precludes learning. likewise, a sincere attitude but only sporadic attendance results in poor ability.
As your understanding of Budo increases, you become motivated to learn more deeply and move from the realm of student to the realm of apprentice (Deshi). The student is accepted a younger brother in to the Budo family, The Deshi is dedicated to studying his chosen Art and has a more serious commitment to learning.
An important trait the student can exhibit is jyunanshin, a flexible attitude or spirit of readiness to accept teachings presented by the Sensei. This flexibility allows the student to be shaped into something better. The willingness of the student to change is a fundamental to success in Budo. Your willingness to take criticism and endure sometimes long and repetitive training allows the progression from Seito to Deshi. Having an open mind that can accept new paradigms is an important quality in learning Budo. New teaching must be ingested, pondered, practiced and integrated. We honor the traditional methods and values of Budo, with the injection of updated pedagogy- allowing training to be more efficient and effective with the goal of surpassing your genetic potential.
As we are a private school and practice in a non-commercial environment, we care deeply about the quality and not the quantity of individuals we train. Although no one is perfect, it is imperative for the sake of the Arts that we maintain the standards of practice as dictated by our Budo forefathers, as well as the safety and security needed in these modern times.
Students must be willing to put forth strong effort in the process of spiritual forging (Seishin Tanren), in which they evolve from a student (Seito) to an apprentice (Deshi). Since Budo is taught and learned through a close relationship between teacher (Sensei) and student, the attitude, trust and skill of the student determine his/her progress. Unless one can eliminate the distracting influence of egotistical thoughts and train sincerely, one will not succeed.
Seito literally means "life assistant" and it refers to a person with less experience. When you first enter the dojo, there is an interest to find out more about the martial art practiced. As a beginner, you tentatively start out on a path, but do not really have an idea where it may lead. Motivation is usually external.
Once you join the dojo, be open minded, maintain a good attitude and attend class regularly. Both attitude and attendance are vital; attitude equals mind and attendance equals body. Mind and body are equal in the Ways. Attending every practice session with a closed and resistant mind precludes learning. likewise, a sincere attitude but only sporadic attendance results in poor ability.
As your understanding of Budo increases, you become motivated to learn more deeply and move from the realm of student to the realm of apprentice (Deshi). The student is accepted a younger brother in to the Budo family, The Deshi is dedicated to studying his chosen Art and has a more serious commitment to learning.
An important trait the student can exhibit is jyunanshin, a flexible attitude or spirit of readiness to accept teachings presented by the Sensei. This flexibility allows the student to be shaped into something better. The willingness of the student to change is a fundamental to success in Budo. Your willingness to take criticism and endure sometimes long and repetitive training allows the progression from Seito to Deshi. Having an open mind that can accept new paradigms is an important quality in learning Budo. New teaching must be ingested, pondered, practiced and integrated. We honor the traditional methods and values of Budo, with the injection of updated pedagogy- allowing training to be more efficient and effective with the goal of surpassing your genetic potential.
As we are a private school and practice in a non-commercial environment, we care deeply about the quality and not the quantity of individuals we train. Although no one is perfect, it is imperative for the sake of the Arts that we maintain the standards of practice as dictated by our Budo forefathers, as well as the safety and security needed in these modern times.
The kyudo dojo at the Florida Budokan, Eustis Florida
THE DOJO
The Dojo is a place where you realize the preciousness of life. Here you can come and die many times over. Here you can make mistakes and discover truths about your own nature and the nature of others. Here you can deeply experience, at one in the same time, the frailty of life and its virtually unbounded possibilities…
The Dojo is a place of contradictions and paradoxes.
Taken as a whole, our dojo is a special place. The discipline of both Deshi and Sensei and the tangible and the intangible atmosphere of the dojo may be daunting to the beginner and a home for the senior. It can harbor both peacefulness and passion, humbleness and power and is a place of elation and frustration. Training can be highly intense where life and death may hang by a thread, and at other times laughter brings smiles to everyone. It is a place where you study the concentration and technique of other like-minded positive individuals, and a place where the ego can disappear. Its atmosphere transforms you into something both fearsome and unmistakably beautiful.
Iaido swordsmanship training at Kashimon Dojo, Florida Budokan
At all times, you know that your “forging” is never finished. The fire of the furnace leaps up. The hammer pounds the red hot steel and Sparks fly. The steel folds upon itself, over and over again. There is no end to it, but then in the midst of all that---you may enter a place of grace that is fulfilled and wonderfully complete.
Dojo Details
The Dojo is only open 30 minutes before class and remains open 30 minutes after class in order for the student to continue self study.
*Persons with economic concerns should speak to their instructor. Economic hardship is not a reason to be absent.
Dojo Details
The Dojo is only open 30 minutes before class and remains open 30 minutes after class in order for the student to continue self study.
*Persons with economic concerns should speak to their instructor. Economic hardship is not a reason to be absent.
Plaque above dojo door reads "Bunbu Fuki" Scholarship and Martial Arts are one.