The martial arts club SV Bushido is suffering from a lack of training and is looking for a way to set up a training center (dojo) in the city.
Erlensee – The example of SV Bushido shows how the current renovation of the town hall can have a negative impact on the development of a sports club. Training sessions that are repeatedly canceled because the Erlenhalle is needed for meetings and other official events are a problem for the almost 100 members. That’s why the club is urgently looking for another way to set up a training center, a dojo, in the city.
The more than 30 children and young people – and the number is rising – and the approximately 60 active participants have been training in the Erlenhalle for four years, reports second chairman Tom Henninger in an interview with this newspaper. “In the recent past, the training conditions there have become increasingly difficult, as the hall is increasingly being used for other purposes during the training times allocated to us, meaning that our training has to be canceled, often at very short notice.” Due to the renovation and renovation of the town hall, many meetings such as city council meetings or committee meetings have been held in the Erlenhalle since 2024/2025.
Rental agreement could not be extended
“We previously had a rented dojo in a renovated former car repair shop on Hainstrasse, which we used exclusively as a club house and training facility,” says the second chairman. “Unfortunately, this rental agreement could no longer be extended due to the landlord’s own needs.” Afterwards, the training took place in the Fallbachhalle and the Erlenhalle. However, the Fallbachhalle was then eliminated because fire protection measures were no longer guaranteed there. “Since then we have only been able to train in the Erlenhalle.”
SV Bushido is currently looking for new premises in the city in order to be able to offer reliable training times for its members again. “Due to the constant cancellation of training sessions, it is becoming increasingly difficult to carry out proper youth work,” emphasizes Henniger, who is himself one of ten trainers and primarily looks after young talent.
Adapt the new hall yourself
A heatable room of around 100 square meters with a toilet and additional rooms that could be converted into a changing room and a small storage area for sports equipment would be ideal. “We prepared the hall in our old home to meet our needs ourselves; this would also be possible in a new property.”
Under certain circumstances, the association would also be able to purchase a suitable property if the price was affordable, explains Henninger. Money is available because after the rental period ended in 2020 due to the Corona restrictions, the saved rental expenses were saved for a specific purpose in order to use them to buy or rent other premises. “Having our own dojo would open up completely new development opportunities for our club and would also be a benefit for the variety of sports offered in Erlensee.”
At SV Bushido you can practice various self-defense and martial arts, for example Ju-Jutsu, a self-defense system that combines elements from numerous other martial arts such as judo, karate and Aikido. Active people also train in kickboxing, in which hitting with the hands, like in boxing, is supplemented with kicking techniques. Krav Maga is also offered, a self-defense system from Israel that primarily includes punching and kicking techniques, but also grip techniques, levers and ground fighting.
Constantly growing children’s and youth department
“Since our club was founded, we have been taking part in regional and national jujutsu tournaments in the fighting and ne waza disciplines. Thanks to our constantly growing children’s and youth department, we are able to put together an increasingly strong competition squad, which, together with the group trainers, creates a harmonious and successful club team,” emphasizes the second chairman. After the tournaments, the potential for improvement is analyzed and work is done on it in the subsequent training sessions. This makes it all the more stressful that training times are repeatedly canceled. Members also take part in courses and competitions in the Kickboxing and Krav Maga departments, including in the disciplines of Submission Wrestling, Grappling and Luta Livre.
In 2010, SV Bushido separated from the multi-disciplinary club TSG Erlensee as an independent club in order to further expand the area of martial arts through the possibility of renting its own premises. (By Thomas Seifert)
