Dojo Caracal
The Teacher
Shai Regev | 15th Dan and Dai-Shihan in the Bujinkan | Student of Danny Waxman
I have practiced martial arts since 1989. Since 1999 I have studied Budo Taijutsu, judo and Zen with Danny Waxman, and since 2004 I have taught Budo Taijutsu. Alongside this, I also see myself as a student of judo in the classical Japanese style: the judo Danny has taught me all these years, and the judo I also see in Israel with Yona Melnik Sensei.
For me, my way in the martial arts is not made up of a collection of techniques, ranks or certificates. These exist and have their place, but they are not the essence. What keeps me on the way is the chance to learn again and again how to move, how to see, how to respond to change, how to know myself, and how to develop and improve through training. Over the years I have come to understand more and more how much training and life influence each other.
A Student First
Over the years I have come to understand that real learning begins where difficulty begins, when things get complicated and do not go according to the plan I made. A technique that can only be performed mechanically is not enough. The question is what happens when the distance changes, when the timing goes wrong, when the partner, or the opponent, does not respond as we expected, or when we ourselves are under pressure.
That is why, even today, I see myself first and foremost as a student. I keep learning, examining and going deeper. For me, teaching is not a stage that comes after learning but part of it. Students ask questions, respond differently from one another, and make me re-examine things I sometimes thought I already understood.
As a Teacher
As a teacher, it is important to me that students learn to understand and not just imitate. I look for precision, position, correct timing, and above all feeling: the ability to sense what is really happening and respond accordingly.
It is also important to me that students learn to cope with difficulty, with change and with situations that do not go according to plan. In my view, good training should develop not only technical ability but also stability, independence, openness and the ability to keep acting under pressure.
Teachers and Influences
Danny Waxman is my main teacher. From him I have learned, and continue to learn, Budo Taijutsu, judo and Zen, and above all a true fighting spirit. I have learned many things from him, far too many to list here, but among the most important, and perhaps the most essential: you do not give up on training. Precision matters a great deal, both physically and in keeping to schedules. Under pressure you do not break; you keep going (“gaman”) and fight for as long as there is breath in you.
Danny always emphasized two Japanese concepts: gaman (我慢), which in the sense he used it means for me not giving up and not surrendering, and nagare (流れ), flow and continuity. These two values are a guiding light for me, both in the dojo and in life. Gaman is the ability to keep going and not break, even under pressure and hardship. Nagare is the ability to keep flowing, changing and moving forward, and not to get stuck. For me these are not just Japanese concepts or martial arts principles. They are values and a way of life.
In the ninpō aspect I also learned from him shinshin shingan (神心神眼), roughly: “divine heart and mind, and divine eye.” I learned from him to be open toward every person, not to rush to label people, and not to approach them with preconceptions. I learned from him to accept people as they are and to meet them before I judge them.
From Hatsumi I received enormous reinforcement for what I had learned from Danny: first and foremost, openness toward every person, without determinism and without prejudice. From him and from other teachers in Japan I learned more about nagare and about letting go, which Danny always emphasized and which were at the core of his way of teaching. Meeting Hatsumi and the teachers in Japan did not replace what I had learned from Danny; it deepened and strengthened it.
Community and Atmosphere
What matters most to me in the dojo is the human relationships and the atmosphere. In my view, good, high-quality learning does not come only from a good teacher or precise practice, but first and foremost from a strong, friendly and supportive community. When people feel comfortable asking, making mistakes, experimenting, helping one another and laughing together, a place is created where it is truly possible to learn and grow.
I want the dojo to be a place of seriousness without heaviness, depth without arrogance, and friendship without ego. The quality of learning is to a large extent a result of the quality of the community: the better the connections between people, the more open, safe and honest the training becomes, and in the end, the deeper as well. A strong, friendly community is not an add-on to training. It is the condition for high-quality learning.
Building a budo community is also a value Hatsumi spoke and wrote about explicitly, and here too I try to follow his way: not only to pass on techniques, but to create around the training a community of people who learn together, support one another and grow together.
Good spirit, humanity and acceptance are very important to me, but it is important to me not to forget that we came to learn a martial art. In my view, an uncompromising fighting spirit is a core value, in the dojo and in life in general. We can be friendly, open and supportive, and at the same time demand of ourselves seriousness, courage, perseverance and a willingness to face difficulty. This is a value I will not give up.
Outside the Dojo
Outside the martial arts, I am a geographer and urban planner by profession. There too I deal with space, with movement, with the relationship between people and place, with the social sciences, and with the way complex systems change and plans go wrong. I love nature, the outdoors, journeys and challenges, and in many ways I feel that the curiosity that leads me through life is the same curiosity that leads me in budo and the martial arts.
In the end, I do not see a sharp line between training and life. The things we learn in the dojo (to see, to feel, to adapt, to keep our balance, not to be thrown by change, and to keep looking for a way) stay with us when we leave it. For me, and for my teachers, every place is the dojo and every moment is part of training.
Training Together
If this way speaks to you, you can start with a trial class.
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