Wednesday, April 29, 2015 by C. Michial Jones
In 2014, my life took a major turn. I retired from my career in law enforcement, a profession that had tested my Budo in the harshest of environments. With that chapter closed, I turned my full attention back to the mat. My father and I made a monumental decision: to open a new dojo together in Marion, Indiana.
The building we chose was a wreck. It had sat abandoned for a decade, a “terrible mess” by any definition. When we first walked through the door, my father looked at the peeling paint and the debris and said, “This will take us years to get ready.” I looked at my watch and replied, “Three months.”
The Labor of the Lineage
From October to January, the dojo became our world. My father, my son Curtis, and I put in 10-to-18-hour days, fueled by sweat and a shared vision. We were joined by my wife Amber, my sons Alec and Nick, my nephew Codie, and a dedicated crew of students from both the Komakai Academy and the Yushikan.
We didn’t just hire contractors; we built the sanctuary with our own hands. This “manual labor as training” is a traditional Okinawan concept. When you build the floor you bleed on, the dojo takes on a spirit that a leased storefront can never replicate. We had our first class on January 19th.
One Name, One Vision
Since 1994, my father and I had maintained separate dojos. While we cross-trained and sat on each other’s boards, we were independent Sensei with our own identities. To mark this new beginning, we set aside our old names—names that had defined us since 1977 and 1994—and chose a new one: The Okinawan Martial Arts Center (OMAC).
We hashed out a unified curriculum and designed a new logo. It wasn’t about the Yushikan absorbing the Komakai or vice versa; it was about the two of us creating something greater than the sum of its parts.
The Writing of the Way
With the physical space complete, the intellectual work began. The combined energy of the new dojo sparked a period of intense creativity. I drafted a new training manual and began working on several books, including the second edition of Entering Through the Gateway of Gojuryu, alongside texts on Kobudo and Jujutsu.
The Yushikan remains—it is my heart and my private research space—but the Okinawan Martial Arts Center is our public legacy. We have already hosted major events, from the Keeney Cup to seminars with Roy J. Hobbs Sensei, drawing practitioners from as far as Baltimore.
The Circle Closes
Looking at my father and three sons on the mat next to me, I realize that this is what Budo is meant to be. It is not just about techniques; it is about the continuity of family and the preservation of a system through the generations. We aren’t just teaching Karate; we are building a home for the arts in Indiana that will stand long after we are gone.
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