loyalty vs. progression

[Zaine]

If your sensei really did that to you infront of the whole class im gonna have to bring his self control into the mix here. As someone who teaches self disipilne (please excuse my spelling) then he shouldnt get angry like that. It is good to cross train, and it is good to ask questions outside of the class, thats how you learn. Furthermore, he has no control whatsoever to say whether or not you ask questions.

[Jay]

sometimes you have to think of yourself instead of being loyal as its your life and if you think your wasting the time on something that you dont want to do then quit

[NidaninNJ]

I remember one guy from a dojo I used to go to where he used to ask the instructor questions all the time. The instuctor was always patient and tried to explain to the student's satisfaction. But this student was never happy with the answers and - get this - he almost always asked the same question more than once! He almost never listened! It finally got to the point that the instuctor told him that he needed to listen to the answers or not ask questions. Also, this guy often asked questions unrelated to the actual training. It was obviuos to everybody else that this guy wasn't paying attention to what was being taught and just thinking about his own things - probably thinking about what to ask next. The student wasn't very good and was slow to improve. I'm sure this is becuase he just didn't listen.

Asking questions can be good but the questions have to make sense and be about what you are doing in class at the time. And most of all the students need to LISTEN to the answers when they ask questions.

If the questions are good the instructor should answer. If not he's just being a jerk.

[Skeptic 2004]

My instructor always reminds me to never give up my independence. He encourages me to take what I want from him, and if I find something lacking, find it, even if it means going elsewhere. To him, training good karate is far more important than the politics that naturally flow from a single instructor-student alliance. But far above that is respect. Being respectful to him is more important than being loyal to him. And that is all that he asks of me.

This attitude puts the impetus of my training on myself. I am responsible for my own karate. Too many times under the guise of "loyalty" people tend to place the responsibility of their karate upon their instructor, and when things like this happen, they continue to hold their instructor responsible for their training. YOU are responsible for your own training. If you don't like something or feel that something is lacking, find it elsewhere. If you're going to be loyal to something, be loyal to your training.

This isn't a blank check to tell your instructor to go stuff it; respect is paramount. But, bear in mind that he is not the end-all-be-all of your karate or whatever it is that you do. If he becomes a barrier to your training, respectfully remove that barrier from your training. Period. He isn't responsible for your karate: YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR KARATE. I cannot stress that enough.

[jaymac]

I believe that if you arent finding what you want from one instructor, you should look elsewhere. However, I do believe that you should be loyal to the person who is spending time to teach you. As mentioned before, if you are training elsewhere and bring it back to your dojo and question why something is different from the other, or worse you are teaching other students what you learned under a different instructor (not saying that you did), then that would be wrong and the head instructor may not appreciate it at all. But if I was berated in front of everyone in my class over a question as opposed to taking me off to the side or in an office and discussing it with me like a normal adult, then I would be out of there for good. I hope you stick with the 5th dan instructor. Good luck.

[italian_guy]

I am very happy with my new dojo.

... and this says it all....

Not everyone may like the way how an instructor teach....

some like absolute truths, they do not want to question and compare

they want to learn what they think it is written on stones,

your old sensei was suitable for those kind of people, maybe he knows the art (even if I doubt it somehow, if he is not self-questioning as a teacher I think he was not questioning as a student and the lack of this quality do not made him a good MArtist) , but he has not a very universal recepee on how to teach it.

By leaving him you made the right choice.

[TheAnimal]

I did tell him what I was doing and he barrated me in front of the class, he stated that he is a 7th don and not to be questioned!

I'm with Andrew, that guys a megolomaniac and a moron. I'd kick his ... if he berated me like that, 7th dan or not. That way he'll maybe learn his place, as will his students learn about him. (I'm evil.)