ABK Sansára Dojos

🥋 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗔́𝗥𝗔 𝗗𝗢𝗝𝗢𝗦 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗕𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗡 — 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗜𝗡 𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟮.

I’m very excited to announce that we are now able to replicate the 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮́𝗿𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 for our students to wear proudly on their right sleeve, identifying the lineage from which our Dojo has come.

This is also a little piece of history and an opportunity to honour the woman who started it all — 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗹𝘀𝗮.

In 1982, Shihan Elsa started 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮́𝗿𝗮 𝗗𝗼𝗷𝗼𝘀 at Bedford Playground, on the corner of Love Street and Water Street, Spring Hill.

She also held classes twice a week in the afternoons at Brisbane Boys’ and Girls’ Grammar Schools.

As Grammar was a boarding school, Shihan Elsa had an agreement with the Principal to conduct training in the park on the main thoroughfare.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆.

Sansára is a variant of Samsara, a concept rooted in Hindu philosophy. It refers to the 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 — the eternal cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth and karma. It reminds us that all things move in cycles, and that growth is found not only in beginnings, but also in endings and in the spaces between.

But there was another concept that Shihan Elsa strongly emphasised to me, and one that remained a very strong belief of hers — 𝗞𝗮𝗺𝗮.

I remember Shihan Elsa often referring to it in terms of the 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 — what comes around goes around.

For her, it wasn’t simply about waiting for good or bad things to happen to us. It was about understanding that our thoughts, our intentions, our choices and the way we treat others all become part of that circle.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿. 𝗜𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱.

If we act with respect, compassion, honesty and good intention, we contribute something positive to that circle.

If we act through anger, greed, ego or selfishness, those actions can also come back to shape our lives and the lives of those around us.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗿: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲.

And perhaps that is one of the greatest lessons a martial artist can carry beyond the Dojo floor — be mindful of your actions, be responsible for your intentions, and understand that every action becomes part of the circle.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱, 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱.

🥋 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗹𝘀𝗮 — 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂.

🤜 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 • 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 • 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿 🤛

Dedicated Junior Sansarians putting in the work, building strong foundations through Stances, Blocks and Katas. 🥋

🤜 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 - 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 - 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫 🤛

🥋 𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧’𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚

𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗺-𝘂𝗽𝘀, 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘀 — 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 then finished the night with some 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗹𝗱-𝗳𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. 👊

𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗚𝗹𝗲𝗻 is starting to shape up, enthusiastically getting stuck into the sparring! 👊🥋

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗽. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.

🤜 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 - 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 - 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫 🤛

𝗔 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵! 🥋

Following our 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 & 𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 session, a few of us stayed behind to continue working on our 𝗕𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗮𝗶 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗮𝗸𝘂𝘀𝗼𝗸𝘂.

There is always more to discover within 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗮. We broke down the movements, explored their practical applications and challenged our understanding. It was a rewarding session that left us all satisfied with what we uncovered.

I’m very fortunate to have a good friend in 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝗮𝗻, who selflessly gives up his time, drives across town and stays back a little longer to help me continue to develop and advance my own understanding.

This is what 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶 𝗞𝗮𝗶 is all about — supporting each other, sharing knowledge and maintaining those strong 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀 that make our Dojo what it is.

And the day didn’t end there.

After training, I still had work and other responsibilities to catch up on, eventually getting home around 𝟳:𝟬𝟬𝗽𝗺.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗼.

Life doesn’t always give us ideal conditions, and sometimes we simply have to keep moving forward. For me, this is where the mindset of 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻 becomes important — learning to remain composed under pressure, adapt to what is in front of us and keep going.

Perhaps that is where the real value of our training lies. Not in proving how tough we are, but in gradually developing the 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁 to face whatever comes our way.

🤜 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 – 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 – 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿 🤛

🥋 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦 & 𝗖𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 ☕️🍊

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.

It’s fantastic to see strangers from our local community coming together, meeting new people, sharing a few laughs and 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘁 before winding down with some refreshing fruit, a coffee and a friendly chat.

We’re now entering our 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 since starting this initiative, and it’s great to see the numbers steadily growing. What started as a simple idea to bring people together is slowly becoming a regular opportunity for our local community to connect.

A 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 to everyone who participated this morning. It was a real pleasure meeting each and every one of you, and we hope you enjoyed the morning as much as we did.

📅 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿.

If our numbers continue to grow and the interest remains strong, we’re looking at expanding these sessions to 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 moving forward.

So, 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀.

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone again at the next session.👊

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 – 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 – 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿 🤛

🥋 𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗔́𝗥𝗔́ 𝗗𝗢𝗝𝗢𝗦 — 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗞𝗔𝗧𝗔 𝗧𝗢 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘

Tonight at Sansára Dojos we revisited and revised the concepts taught by 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗺 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 at Bloodaxe Dojos last night.

The focus was on bringing these concepts directly into our Kata and changing the way we approach each sequence.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗨𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲 — become the 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹.

Observe. Stay neutral. Be aware of everything around you.

As the threat enters our 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲, we 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲 and become the 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗲.

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — slow it down. Compose yourself. Project your presence.

𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀 — determine the level of threat and choose the appropriate response.

𝗪𝗮𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲 — deal with the threat.

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗪𝗮𝘃𝗲 — finish the encounter and leave the appropriate impact.

Then breathe out, reset and return to 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.

And then we do it all again.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗨𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲 → 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲 → 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 → 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 → 𝗪𝗮𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲 → 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗪𝗮𝘃𝗲 → 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 / 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘁.

Kata is not simply a sequence of movements.

It is a series of 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀.

Tonight we worked on giving those battles intention, emotion and personality — allowing our Kata to 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲.

Well Done Team

🤜 Respect - Strength - Honour 🤛

Tonight’s Training

Warm ups, Katas, Deltas & Sparring followed by a partial Nidan Session

🤜 Respect - Strength - Honour 🤛

The Journey Continues
Thank you Shinden Allan for taking the time out on Saturday, to help me out with my next challenge.
Much appreciated
Regards
Shinden Sam

🤜 Respect - Strength - Honour 🤛

Another great representation from Sansára at our spring grading by our students. Although we were small in grading numbers today we were big in presentation.

Young Kyosta did an excellent job jumping from blue tips to full blue belt. He also won the blue belt kata tournament. Excellent display of techniques at such a young age.

Young Indie was a tornado through her sparring session, also achieving good grading results for green tips. Indie also excelled by winning the kata tournament for her rank and division.

Callan is really staring to come out of his shell and show a determination and self confidence which really amazed us. He achieved brown tip today.

After a vigorous double black bar grading, Elyssa while injured, came through to deliver not only a great grading result, but a great demonstration of Tenshio at the kata tournament securing a win for her division.

Although Dai Sempai Alex didn’t grade today, he demonstrated an excellent Kata Sanseru taking out a winning position.

Very proud of everyone that attended today, keep up the hard work.

The journey is long.

🤜 Respect - Strength - Honour 🤛