THE YURT

The Yurt was chosen as the Dojo and all other uses very specifically. Let start with the yurt itself and all it’s meanings relevant to our intentional use of the property.

Long before the time of Christ, before Buddha and Mohammed, these tribes held a belief in the sacredness of all things and the need to keep a balance-balance between the world of people and the world of nature, and with the worlds above and below. Everything they did reflected this belief.

For Mongolians, the ger (Yurt) is more than their traveling shelter on the Asian steppes. It is their centering point in a moving universe, their center of the universe. The internal floor plan of the ger is based on the four directions, much like the Native American Medicine Wheel or the Navajo hogan. The door always opens to the south. Opposite the door, sacred space is to the North. If the family is Buddhist, this is where the altar sits. It is also the place of the seat of honor for guests, perhaps in part because it is also the warmest spot in the ger.

Yin and yang, ancient symbols for masculine and feminine and the balance of life hold space to the east and west. The western half of the ger is the male area and the eastern half, the female domain. Men's possessions (riding tack, hunting gear, etc.) are hung on the western wall sections. Men and male guests usually sit on that side. Women's tools, such as pots and pans and looms and felting equipment, are stored on the east side of the ger, where women, children and female guests also sit. As in a North American Hogan or sweat lodge, one proceeds around the germ in a clockwise direction.

At the center of all things glows a fire, sacred, gateway to the world below. Above is the central skylight, the smoke hole, entryway to the world above. In the ancient Shamanist tradition, it is the germ that holds the balance and flow of yin and yang, and of worlds above and below. All of this is centered around the sacred fire, provider of warmth and light and the smoke that rises to the world above. In this way the ger expresses the balance of all things in the one, the circle.

So, we see the yurt or ger is a structure with very old and traditional ways to blend into the environment and unify with what they felt was the natural order of things. With the yurt due to it’s flexible open space with an interior design canvas it waits for the creative expression of each yurt inhabitant. While we've shown how a Yurt was mostly used as living quarters, yurts also could be for any type of use in this case as our Dojo. 

What remains constant is the welcoming embrace of the space, the interaction between inner and outer worlds, and the roof structure that lifts our vision skyward. The yurt also has an inherent ability to bring people together into a circle, which naturally engenders connection and cooperation. In that regard as long as I have done Jujitsu whenever we gathered together we always went into a circle. I always found that fascinating and the yurt supports and is designed for that natural expression of cooperative human interaction.

So, we see that the yurt was a natural structure we both felt was so appropriate for our vision of what we wanted to provide on the property as well as our on life style.

The yurt then is an expression of my personal best use of land and structures but it also conforms to the notions of traditional Dojo structure as well. It does so by not only having on the inside basic Dojo designs but also recognises nature and her principles within and without. Anytime a Traditional Sensei could do so they would make their Dojo structure  in  accord with nature as they knew it to be. The yurt then is a statement to such ideas and principles.

So the yurt was a structure that just had to be built. We had to take the next logical leap toward a more complete expression of the inherent notions of the martial arts those being oneness with all things as it’s ultimate expression. Both Carrie and I are so happy and proud to be able to provide this at this point of our lives. We look very forward to offering it to you as well.

Professor Bob Hudson and Mrs. Carrie Rose Hudson