Today as a friend of mine went to get her hair cut, I decided to journey off and wander a while towards to Cairns Kendo Club, which happened to be just down the street. 

 I expected to arrive to the sounds of students practicing, with thunderous footfalls and shouts of instruction. 
However as I made my way to the doorway of the giant hall, with a 'KENDO, IAIDO, JODO' banner above it, I was met with silence. It was eerie. 
I could see through the dusty old windows, the ceiling of the hall stretching upwards, making the space appear so very, very empty. 
It felt to me that the place was abandoned, yet I KNEW it was not. 

 I decided to continue on and went around to the very back of the hall. All of its back doors were open and I could see inside, more clearly. Out of respect I didn't go inside, but admired from a distance. 

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As I turned around to leave I spotted a 'KARATE' sign. Walking towards the tiny building I noticed the sign said a training session was happening today and got very excited, hoping that maybe I would be able to look in on a lesson. 

 Yet again, however, I was met with silence and not a person in sight and again admired from a distance. I looked at the small blue wooden door, tiny wooden shoe rack, little Japanese characters above the door, the rusty bars on the dusty windows and the large trees surrounding. It was a beautiful, quiet moment I had with the exterior of the Dojo and imagined the inside as very traditional.

 So that was my little, uneventful exploration. 
I do appreciate the little things and I have never been to a place dedicated to being only a Dojo/Dojang, so for me this was very special. 

Thanks for reading.

 -Kirstine