Why did we Choose the name “Lantern” dojo?
“Studying karate nowadays is like walking in the dark without a lantern. We have to grope our way in the dark.”
The quote above is attributed to Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju-ryu karate, the style we study, by one of his early students. At the time Miyagi was still a young man - 34 or 35 years old - but had trained since childhood and was recognized for his skill. Miyagi would continue his martial arts training until the end of his life and through the many hardships of WWII and the postwar period.
By all accounts, Miyagi never stopped trying to learn and perfect his art throughout his lifetime.
Thankfully today we have more signposts to guide us, but it is still difficult to walk the path, to know what our practice means, and to decipher the clues from the past.
I hope Lantern Dojo can be a light for you and that perhaps we can make it further down the road together.