These blogs began partially because of some sage advice from a trusted friend who wisely convinced me not to publish a book about my experiences. I probably would have ended up with a bunch of unread copies sitting in my garage. Thanks Lisa…But I needed a way to tell our story, the story of Jissenkan Dojo. “Wait, I thought it was Tatsu Dojo..?” No, actually it is the former, but my older brother, the marketing guru convinced me not to use that name because it wasn’t catchy. So, I thought of some short, pronounceable Japanese phrases I knew and bingo…Tatsu; “dragon.” Cheesy, but catchy. Thanks Tony…
I’ve never owned a business, didn’t have a clue about marketing, advertising, etc. I still don’t, but I’ve learned a lot. One thing in particular is the power of this type of platform. And over the past few years, I’d like to think it has touched who it needed to. It has definitely helped me a lot. You see, I hadn’t’ really grieved Terri’s death and I’d get up on cold Friday mornings, a lot like this one, stair into the dark and just let things flow as they came to me. Every Friday became it’s own therapy session for me, pouring grief, anger, loss, fear, gratitude, memories…love. Someone suggested that I start journaling years ago and I said that it wasn’t something I was interested in. Well, guess what…that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.
Like I said, I wanted to tell our story. And the story of Jissenkan Dojo is one of a life’s journey through love, faith, and martial arts; indeed, the title of one my first blogs. Jissenkan Dojo is the product of 43 years of martial arts training, 33 years of marriage to one bride, two and a half years of marriage to another…love you, Kim. It is the story of a father and his two sons, now one about to have a child of his own. Jissenkan represents a 20-year military career that involved everything from wound care to military education and most importantly, service to my country. The dojo represents a unique community that has been slowly adding to its ranks over the past 18 years. Friends that have become family, most of whom have been with us in the best of times and in dire moments. Jissenkan is about faith, faith in God and Christ. It is also about the times my faith was rocked, when I walked away from God for a bit because I thought life was unfair, only to realize that God never promised fair. You learn a lot by doing kata in a cold, wet gi in an empty dojo.
I always promised myself that I would not use this medium simply as a tool to get accolades, clicks or customers. And true to my word, if I was not inspired to write something one day, I simply didn’t put anything out there. But lately, I’ve been coming to the painful realization that this blog has run its corse. I’ve said my peace about my family, about loss and about love. I’ve written ad nauseam about martial arts tactics, principles and ideals. Unfortunately, that piece never really caught on. We never got any traction in the martial arts community and nobody joined the dojo because of this blog and that’s ok. It has served its purpose and that’s more than enough.
I suppose I could start writing more technical stuff, like the best way to deal with shoulder tendonitis and given the fact that we’re pushing the personal training aspect of our business, I probably should. But technical articles are no fun and they certainly do not inspire. Plus, I don’t want to add to all the noise if I can help it. But I do hope these pieces have added to people’s lives somehow. Maybe it touched someone who was going through a tough time, or provided some insight. I do hope some of you had a laugh once in a while.
But I think for now, at least, this station is secure and the mission accomplished. I’ll miss this, but it needs to be authentic and heartfelt, whether I’m talking about family and faith or about karate. It should never be something that I have to do.
To all of our students, our family at Jissenkan Dojo…I could thank you all for so many things, but the main thing for which I am grateful is your trust over these years. The blog is done, the dojo is not going anywhere.
To Pete and Andy, my men at arms. So much of this has been about you. Look at the men you’ve become; tough, scary at times. But also committed, dedicated and humble. You are the best part of your mom and me.
Finally, to Kim. I love you, Babe. Your are my story. I look forward to going through the rest of the pages with you.
Dave Magliano
Jissenkan Dojo
Student
Will definitely miss the blogs. Always looked forward to reading.