Hero Worship

[Skeptic 2004]

This has been on my mind for a while and perhaps I should give a background story to put it into context first.

At one of my karate practices a while ago, our instructor was demonstrating an application from one of our kata. He was explaining proper body mechanics and position. In one particular place, his explanation looked to me at first to be physically awkward (though when I tried it turned out to be pretty natural), and I asked a question about how powerful a technique would be if executed how he described. This question elicited some smirks or grins from the other "students" (the median age of these "students" is about 50, and they've all been training together since the 1960's and 1970's). The instructor thought it was a fair question and decided to let me feel the technique...which hurt like hell He then guided me through how to perform it as he did.

During a break, a couple students gathered around me in glowing awe, saying "That's why you don't question Sensei. You just do what he tells you and it works. We don't question him anymore." They continued to speak glowingly of our instructor ad nauseum. It was like they were evangelizing me to join the Church of Nakata (name of my instructor).

My instructor's karate is quite frankly the best I've ever seen so far. He has a history and reputation for being a fierce and skilled fighter, and because of his family connections in Japan had the opportunity to train with the last of the old karate greats (Chibana, Ohtsuka, Ueshiba) in his youth in the 1960s. He is a good teacher and a decent person. He is also, first and foremost, a human being; and while I understand these guys have been training together longer than I've been alive, I was not about to be proselytized into the Church of Nakata.

The truth of the matter is that this is not the first time this has happened. Visiting Sensei Doug Perry's dojo in North Carolina last year, many of the students I had the opportunity to meet and train with spoke glowingly of Perry. Yes, he is a great karateka - as a matter of fact behind Nakata, he is the greatest karateka I have ever met. Yes, he is one of the most polite and generous men I have ever had the opportunity to meet; and I honestly don't think anyone I will ever meet will ever top his generosity during my 7 day visit. But, he is also a human being, privvy to all the faults and failures therein. I respect him greatly, but I feel no need to elevate him to the near demi-god status that many endeared him to be. While visiting his dojo was tantamount to going to Shorinkan Mecca, I was not going to be a convert to the Church of Perry.

In my short karate career, I have met many skilled and highly regarded martial arts instructors whose styles and philosophies have shaped how I view the martial arts. However, there comes a time where profound admiration for these individuals begins to color our vision as we filter these men through the lens of hero worship. Isn't there a danger in that? How necessary is it for martial artists to view today's "masters" as heroes? Do you consider your instructor to be larger than life, and as a result find yourself unable to see his/her faults? What is your opinion on the old masters (if you're a karateka/judoka/aikidoka)?

Thoughts please!

[Sam]

No matter how good someone is - if you dont understnad a technique, or even doubt its effectiveness you should always question - a good instructor should always be happy to explain.... thats why i hate it when people just accept things - a good part of using a technique the most effectively is undertstanding how it works.

I would always be wary of hero worship....having a deep seated respect for your instructors / superiors is natural, but to stop being inquisitive and just accept they are teh be all and end all of the art is wrong.... they are practitioners too, and capable of making mistakes as big as anyone elses [ just less likely].

Cant really comment on the old masters though so ill leave that to someone else.

[granmasterchen]

If you are lucky enough to find a great master/sensei/sifu/instructor or teacher, you should be happy and grateful. You SHOULD show your respect for that person. In the cases where you have this opportunity it is natural to look up to your instructor as a person and as a martial artist. In this aspect you should try to base yourself and set goals to be similar to their humble attitudes towards life and their skills as martial artists. This is a fundamental and upper understanding in the levels of budo as the martial way. Not just the skill of fighting but the way you live your life and view life.

On that same topic, respect; yes

admire;yes

but worship, no

Like you said, everyone is human, even these masters and the masters that taught them. Nobody is perfect. But don't misunderstand someone's respect and admiration for their instructor as outright worshipping of them. There is a difference. Be careful how you approach the situation. Just like some of my great teachers, many smoked, one did drugs, some were involved in illegal activities, but they were still very good at the martial arts. You have to make the decision on what you want to learn from them. If you like their combat skills, study their combat skills, if you like their philosophical skills, study their philosophical skills and so on. If the instructor has problems, their is no need to adress them infront of others, simply learn what he is willing to teach you. More than likely your instructor doesn't come in to class and teach the students to smoke, drink, do drugs or perform other illegal activities. What the instructor will teach, most likely, will be to learn your techniques, to train hard, to think before you act, to be skillful and to be humble, to be calm and control your emotions. Most instructors don't bring their personal lives into the dojo so on that side don't critisize them for what they do outside of the dojo. If the instructor makes a mistake in class, also remember that they are human, don't lose all faith in their skill or ability to teach just because of one mistake.....take advantage of their experience, skills, and their dedication to teach you a skill that is truely without a price, absolutely priceless knowledge passed down through generations of martial artists. Remember to be respectful, but don't outright worship or get the misconception that someone or anyone is perfect, keep this in mind and you will be fine. It is not wrong to have heros, but sometimes the admiration we have for them can be wrong and lead to problems....good luck in all your future trainings, I hope this helped somehow.

[Sam]

Also - you were saying these were greate people and also very humble - so it is unlikely they brought the worship on themselvese purposefully.

[ninjanurse]

I agree. Respect their art, their culture, their humanity, but do not worship or blindly follow.

[cheeks]

theres not much more to add here, if you are training with someone who has mastered their respective style then they deserve respect.

but please do not get carried away...

[jarrettmeyer]

Always, always, always question. Question everything.

Look at the 6 levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. I've been applying this to my karate skill.

1. Knowledge: recall and duplicate. Ability to do a technique.

2. Comprehension: classify, identify, and explain. Ability to explain how to do a technique.

3. Application: demonstrate and interpret. How to use the technique on an opponent.

4. Analysis: experiment and test. Why does the technique work? When doesn't the technique work?

~~~

5. Synthesis: creation.

6. Evaluation: appraise and judge

~~~

I haven't yet figured out what levels 5 & 6 mean to me yet, but I'm young and still working on #3 and #4. Thats the level that I'm at right now. I do know that if you want to get to #5 and #6, you have to get through level #4.

[cheeks]

Always, always, always question. Question everything.

Look at the 6 levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. I've been applying this to my karate skill.

1. Knowledge: recall and duplicate. Ability to do a technique.

2. Comprehension: classify, identify, and explain. Ability to explain how to do a technique.

3. Application: demonstrate and interpret. How to use the technique on an opponent.

4. Analysis: experiment and test. Why does the technique work? When doesn't the technique work?

~~~

5. Synthesis: creation.

6. Evaluation: appraise and judge

~~~

I haven't yet figured out what levels 5 & 6 mean to me yet, but I'm young and still working on #3 and #4. Thats the level that I'm at right now. I do know that if you want to get to #5 and #6, you have to get through level #4.

what an interesting post, could you give me anymore info about it?

i suppose in a Martial Arts context, level 5 would be the period when you have your own style, keeping what works and what doesn't work

i cant work out the difference between levels 4 and 6

[Sam]

Synthesis - creating your own new application for a given technique, or changing the way the technique works to generate power or impulse in different quantities.

Evaluation - breaking the technique down into component parts to understnad what parts of the movement generate the power, impact, etc.

or..... evaluating a completely new technique you see based on what you already know - and being able to judge its effectiveness without need of constant training [in the taxonomy you state this would be classified as being an expert].

Thats probably how i would define the last two.... difference between 4 and 6: 4 involves looking at technqiues you know and understanding why they work..... evaluation - understanding the theory of techniques in general to apply to a different new situation.

theres my little ramble... any thoughts on 5 and 6?

[Skeptic 2004]

Also - you were saying these were greate people and also very humble - so it is unlikely they brought the worship on themselvese purposefully.

These men are pretty advanced in age (Sensei Perry should be turning 68 this month and Sensei Nakata is 61). Like men in this age, they invariably love telling stories, and since both have lived illustrious lives (Perry as a marine sniper in Vietnam, Nakata as a virtual uchi-deshi of Chosin Chibana) both enjoy telling stories about themselves. While I don't doubt the truth behind the stories they tell, there's always a little room to make the tales an inch or two taller if you catch my drift. While sharing their life experiences is extremely valuable, their incredible feats do to some degree (however slight) foster a little bit of hero worship. How do you not to some degree worship a marine sniper from Vietnam who served two (or three...don't remember exactly but he went more than once) tours and was awarded 57 combat decorations? How do you not stand in awe in front of a man who was THE guy Chibana picked whenever someone challenged his school and summarily beat EVERYONE he ever fought...as a 20-something-year-old (one Okinawan "master" called him "Chibana's fighting right arm")?

In essence, they do and do not intentionally foster a degree of hero worship. They tell these stories to share their lives with us, but they have tp know that the things they've done in these stories will to some degree make them larger-than-life to us.