Training at Ryu Senshi Dojo in Seymour is all about community connection.
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While an outsider looking in will only see flashes of kicks and blows, at the heart of a local martial arts group is community.
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For 10 years, B.J. O’Connell has been running the Ryu Senshi Dojo in Seymour — passing on his three decades of experience in Muay Thai and Zen Do Kai, and learnings from multiple trips overseas, to children and adults in town.
One of the central facets of the art, he says, is empowering students with the tools they need to feel self-assured in dangerous situations.
“It’s about empowering people with a bit of confidence,” Mr O’Connell said.
“We hear on the media that society’s getting more dangerous.
“We want to equip people with the confidence to get through their day.”
Training on the Seymour College campus every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night, the classes run in a mixed format.
Parents will train as equals alongside their children, which has been the case at the dojo since COVID lockdowns, where they were “forced” into this type of setting.
Since then, the mixed format has remained, with a number of benefits of holding the class with different age groups having been uncovered during the lockdown period.
Mr O’Connell said one advantage of this format was that it simulated real-life circumstances.
“If kids are going to be in a dangerous situation, it often involves bigger people,” he said.
“If it’s juniors training together, they treat it more like a game. By having them train with seniors, they get used to not shutting down during a scary situation.”
Another benefit of this format is its indirect response to a society that, Mr O’Connell said, was becoming increasingly “disconnected”.
“We want to create that opportunity for parents to reconnect with their kids and share that time on the floor,” he said.
“We’ve had a wonderful uptake with parents taking the journey with their children and celebrating those milestones together.”
Kru Rambo and B.J. O'Connell train in a boxing ring in Thailand.
He added that martial arts itself also addressed this disconnection.
“We are all guilty of too much screen time, and it breaks my heart when I see parents, children and friends supposedly coming together, but sitting at a table looking at their phones — they’re in the same vicinity but still miles apart,” he said.
“When it comes to sparring or martial arts, you can only focus on that fist or that foot that’s coming at you.
“It’s a sport that demands all of our attention and it commands us to be present.”
Now, the dojo is looking ahead, and on its journey to purchasing a standalone facility, it needs the community’s help.
“Fighter development is something we’re really focused on. We want to give options for people to move forward,” Mr O’Connell said.
“Training in the ring is very different to being in the hall and going through the motions — it’s a confined environment and it requires a totally different skill set.
“That’s why we’re looking to purchase a ring.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the dojo to purchase a foldaway boxing ring.
In two weeks, it has already raised $3000 of its $9000 goal.
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