It’s Ōsōji Time!

Traditional Japanese dojos worldwide dedicate one of their final sessions in December to Ōsōji. Regular training is suspended, and students arrive in casual clothes or old uniforms to scrub the mats, paint walls, polish mirrors, make much-needed repairs and replace damaged tatami.

Ōsōji (大掃除) - which translates literally to "big cleaning"- is a centuries old deep cleaning of a Dojo, performed at the end of each year.

Far from being a mundane chore or a way to save on maintenance :)) Ōsōji is considered an integral part of martial arts training.

It serves to purify the physical training space, cultivate humility, eliminate the ego, and express gratitude for the teachings received over the past year.

Saturday 19 December 2026 | 10am–3pm
Pizza, drinks and community time from 3 to 4pm

Our dojo has been home to a lot this year – first classes, new friendships, hard-earned progress and plenty of moments worth celebrating.

Now it’s time to give it some care.

Ōsōji means “big clean”. In Japanese dojo tradition, students put regular training aside near the end of the year and work together to clean and care for their shared training space. It’s a practical expression of respect, gratitude and responsibility.

Join us as we scrub the mats, vacuum, polish the mirrors, sugar-soap the walls & doors, and tackle ALL the cleaning, painting and small repairs that will get our dojo ready for another year.

• Everyone: Please wear casual clothes or an old uniform that you don’t mind getting dirty, and bring rubber gloves.

• Handy-People: We need you!! Please bring along your tool-kit (electric drills, hammers, nails/screws etc) and anything else you think might by useful when making repairs!

Whether you can lend a hand for an hour or stay for the day, we’d love your help.

At 3pm, we’ll supply pizza and drinks, put our feet up and enjoy some time with our incredible BBMA community.

Come along, pitch in and help us finish the year together.