Self absorbed?

[bushido_man96]

My thought is it depends on the dojo and the student. If the dojo harbors an "My art is better than your art" attitude or the instructor is a big ego case, then that's going to rub off on the students. However, there's ALWAYS somebody who's better than you. Doesn't matter how many first place trophy's you have or what rank you have.

That fact keeps me from getting discouraged when I'm sparring someone better than me. I might not be able to hit this guy right now, but there's someone out there who can, which means that some day I might be able to as well.

Good points, lordtariel. Very well put.