Why Online Training?
While many martial artists experienced online training in one format or another during the pandemic lockdowns and restrictions of 2020 and 2021, it might not be obvious why continuing to engage with this format still offers profound and lasting benefits. It was seen by many as a stopgap effort, meant to keep the skills of students from atrophying too much and to keep martial arts schools viable while in-person classes were on hold. After lockdowns were lifted, many people returned to their local schools to resume training there, with no further thought of online training. The hope that a similar situation never happens again can perhaps nudge us all towards wanting to forget about things associated with that time altogether. Many teachers were relieved to step away from online teaching and return to the familiar practice at which they excel, teaching their dojo classes.
Why continue training online now that in-person classes are in full swing again? The answer to this might not be apparent to those who haven't had the chance to make authentic and lasting connections with teachers and practitioners around the world who are kindred spirits in this pursuit.
To our delight and surprise, we found that what blossomed in the online classes taught by Rick Hotton Sensei is a deep and authentic connection with a worldwide family of martial artists of many styles and levels of experience. None of us wanted to abandon that! Even after returning to in-person training locally, many of the people who had become regular students in the Sunday Morning Keiko online training found such value in those sessions that they choose to keep attending as long as we keep hosting. This has turned out to be an unexpected joy to emerge from the past few years. When a new program was launched to offer weekly instruction with Hotton Sensei presenting his full curriculum in sequence from the beginning, an even deeper connection was forged. Students of a wide range of experience levels and a variety of style backgrounds joined as remote members of West Wind Dojo, Hotton Sensei's home dojo in Sarasota, Florida.
So why has this format of online training turned out to be so beneficial for so many of our students? Connection. Inspiration. Personal relevance.
It might not be immediately obvious how an activity as physical as martial arts, that typically includes direct work with training partners, can be effectively taught online. It's true that teaching in this format requires some modification to account for not being in person with the teacher and the absence of training partners. We've navigated that consideration to offer what many students say enhances their practice in ways that personalize it and allow them to find significant personal epiphanies while also increasing their technical skill and physical abilities.
Instruction by Rick Hotton Sensei is offered with the hope for every student to find things that connect with their true selves, not simply comply with a prescribed shape or utilitarian function. Woven throughout is the invitation to “find your own karate” and seek deeper meaning and self-revelation. Beautiful community and energy grew and continue to be present in the West Wind Dojo remote membership classes and the Sunday Morning Keiko weekend sessions. Many students have expressed that being able to continue with this format has allowed them to find growth through their practice that they'd been seeking through local in-person training but had been unable to find.
History of Our Program
The advent of online karate training has been an unexpected gift to emerge from the past few years. Like many others, during the periods of lockdown in 2020 when many dojo had to close due to public health considerations, Sunday Morning Keiko initiated online training sessions open to anyone to join to train with Rick Hotton Sensei. Practitioners from around the world took advantage of this and we developed a remarkable community of regular participants who expressed finding enormous benefit in these sessions. Even after the public health restrictions lifted and many dojo reopened, we continued to host these online sessions as the interest was still present, even for people who had returned to training in person in their local dojo. These sessions continue to this day.
In 2021, Hotton Sensei decided to offer a new kind of online program. Over the years, many people from around the world expressed their hope to be able to train with him, to learn his whole curriculum rather than only elements that can be taught in seminars or gleaned from YouTube videos. Based on this, he chose to initiate a West Wind Dojo remote membership option. This program includes weekly online classes for those who want to learn his full curriculum and experience all the details of his philosophy and what he emphasizes based on over 50 years of his own exploration. It allows for a deliberate progression through his unique curriculum and systematically experiencing the principles that distinguish his practice and teaching from that of the conventional Shotokan structure that many are familiar with.
This program has grown to include students from around the world, from different styles, with different levels of experience, from beginner to advanced. It has been truly remarkable to witness the depth of connection and detailed learning that has grown in this format. As we all face the challenges of life, this phenomenon we've experienced through our online training endeavor is a joyous process of new vistas and expanded meaning. If you'd like to join us, please get in touch.
Click here to read about the online program: West Wind Dojo remote membership
Click here to learn about the weekend online sessions and in-person events: Seminars and training opportunities