Place of the Way

For the past eleven years I have been practicing taijiquan at a local dojo, and this weekend past was the last training session in this building. Usually I'm not one to get sentimental over a place or a building but I did feel a pang of sadness at hearing of its closure. Thankfully I will be continuing my training with my sifu, just in a different building, one not setup as a dedicated martial arts space.

Reflecting on my time in the dojo and reading back on some of the writing I've done on my tai chi practice (long rambling writings), I decided to bring my Sony A6600 down for the last training session and practice some photography, capture an ending, and be mindful of the spaces we occupy. I've compiled some of the photos I took into a small photo essay to capture the moment.

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end...

If you've made it this far, here's a great clip from one of my favourite kung fu films 'Heroes of the East' (1978) about change and dojos.

An arranged marriage between a Chinese martial artist and a Japanese martial artist ends up in a literal clash of cultures! In this scene Yumiko, wanting to practice her Japanese martial arts, discovers her husband's dojo and starts clearing out all the 'inferior' junk in it! Better than smashing all the statues and walls in the garden I guess!