🥋 Why You Don’t See a Lot of Straight Lines and Still Children in Our Dojo

If you walk into our dojo expecting rows of perfectly still children standing in silence, you might be surprised.

You’ll see movement, laughter, chatter, correction — and yes, discipline.

But not the kind that freezes kids in place.

Because stillness isn’t discipline.

It’s performance.

There’s a time and place for that, and our students can do it — and do it well — when they’re asked to.

We just don’t do it that often.

Standing up straight, looking sharp — those things are important.

They build confidence, awareness, and pride.

But they have to be balanced with looseness.

Because it’s hard to form camaraderie and bond with others if you’re not allowed to speak.

It’s hard to find your rhythm if you’re only ever told to be still.

When students laugh, move, and connect, they’re not being disrespectful — they’re being alive.

And when that energy is guided, not crushed, it becomes focus, teamwork, and joy.

That’s what discipline really is — not stillness, but choice.

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The Opportunity to Choose

I like to say I don’t make anyone do anything.

I just present opportunities for growth and learning.

Do that — and do it with a smile — and your students will choose what you offer them every time.

That’s the real secret.

A student who chooses to grow is unstoppable.

A student who’s forced to grow will only ever resist.

So we don’t control our students — we guide them.

We don’t silence them — we listen.

And that’s why they keep showing up — not because they have to, but because they want to.

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For Those Who Think I’m Straying From the Way

For those who think I’m straying from the Way — don’t worry.

Your time is almost done.

Progress waits for no one.

You can adapt, or you can fade away.

That’s not disrespect. That’s just reality.

The next generation isn’t abandoning tradition — they’re building on it.

They’re learning faster, questioning more, and demanding better.

And that’s exactly what the Way has always asked of us.

Our job isn’t to preserve the past in a glass case — it’s to bring it forward into the world as it is now.

To make sure it stays alive, not just remembered.

So no, I’m not straying from the Way.

We’re walking it — at full speed.

Kyoshi Eric Vinagreiro, BA BEd

Northern Karate Markham