http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_military_mission_to_Japan_(1872%E2%80%931880)

"Some members of the mission also endeavoured to learn Japanese martial arts: Villaret and Kiehl were members of the dojo of Sakakibara Kenkichi, a master of Jikishin Kage Ryu, a form of swordsmanship (Kenjutsu), making them some of the first western students of Japanese martial arts.[2]"

Am I now isolating where we were all sent as young people to learn JAPANESE MARTIAL ARTS - see previous notes in relation to meeting up with ROZ, MCDONALD and SC in that 'win or die' horrorshow of a school...and RIMINGTON being surprised but also 'relieved' in a way...that I had made it through...she obviously figured that the other three would have made it through without question...although she was also a bit surprised to see SC sitting there...he had appeared too 'docile' a personality but obviously hidden strengths...

Funnily enough...I can remember JANE FITZGERALD - the video tutor in the drama department at DARTINGTON...giving coaching tutorials to JACQUI/ROZ/JO's year...and JO came back from her tutorial - more annoyed than I have ever seen her...and so I asked her why...

JANE had 'picked up something about her'....and told her that she sensed FRENCH/JAPANESE influences - and practically speaking...when one looked at JO...on first impressions, it was true in a way, JO used to arrange her hair to look like a very messy Geisha girl with 'sticks'/pins/bows coming out of it, piled up on her head...anyway, JANE suggested that she have a look at this area - FRENCH/JAPANESE influences, in relation to her drama work...and this had upset JO out of her mind...in an abnormal way...an abnormally 'furious' reaction for 'easy going' JO...

JO then told me that all she had ever wanted to do in her life was to be a CLOWN for children's parties...she wasn't interested in research or studying and she really didn't know why she had bothered to enroll at DARTINGTON at all...no answer to that, is there really?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dojo

A dojo (道場 dōjō?) is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to conduct training, examinations and other related encounters.

The concept of a dōjō as a martial arts training place is a Western concept; in Japan, any physical training facility, including professional wrestling schools, may be called dōjō because of its close martial arts roots.