Who's afraid of Sensei?

[Montana]

I've been looking through old topics today and came across a couple that I thought might be worth refreshing again. Enjoy!

Being nearly 60 years old, and having spent almost 2/3 of my life in the martial arts, makes me think of some weird things now and then.

Do you fear your Sensei? Do you fear the head of your system? Do you fear your seniors in the class?

These people have the ability to teach you many concepts and skills, and that's what you're there for, right? Of course you are. Yet these same people have the ability to withhold that information from you by denying your advancement, feeding you only little tidbits of information in small doses, or if you dare to challenge them in what they teach you, they have the power to expell you from their classes altogether.

Doesn't this instill a bit of fear into you to behave correctly, according to their rules?

Does the forced practice of saying "Yes SIR!" to their question, or face corporal punishment (such as pushups) instill fear in your to answer "correctly" or be punished? I don't know about you, but I hate pushups.

What makes these seniors, these higher ranking members of the same system that you are practicing, any better than you are? What makes them demand that you treat them in a God-like fashion? That their every utterance is law and that when they say jump, you have to ask "How high Sir?"

Maybe I was spoiled as a student. My origional sensei, fresh from learning the art from the head of the system in Okinawa, asked us to either call him Dennis or sensei in class, and outside of class it was just Dennis. Not Mr. Miller.

Way back in June of 1978 the head of our system, 7th Dan (at the time) Kuda Yuichi Sensei travelled from Okinawa at the invitation of my sensei to train us for 3 weeks.

There was no bowing and scraping or kissing his...hand. We bowed in to him at the beginning and end of class, and called him sensei, or Sensei Kuda. He hated being called Master. After class, ALL students were invited frequently to have dinner with him in Dennis's home, or we went out and all had a beer together. Sensei Kuda was the most peaceful, gentle and unassuming person I had ever met, but also one of the most talented martial artist I will have ever known.

About 15 years later, I had the opportunity to train with Sensei Kuda again in Seattle for a week. Amazingly, Sensei Kuda remembered me immediately, approached me and shook my hand and said "I'm happy to see you are still training." He was now a 9th Dan head of the system.

How many of the heads of your system would even acknowledge your existence, let along greet you like a friend you hadn't seen in years?

Alas, Sensei Kuda passed away in 1999. I never feared him, nor Sensei Miller, or any other ranking sensei in my chosen system that I've had the opportunity to meet. They have my respect because of their knowledge, and because they treat me as an equal, regardless opf what belts we hang around our waist or certificates hanging on our walls. We are all just people on the same path to learning.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Montana

[IcemanSK]

Boy, that is certainly an issue in MA isn't it? We get the idea that somehow we are talking to our school principal when we're talking to our MA seniors, sometimes. Sometimes that is their doing, & sometimes it's merely our own doing.

Surely, respect & fear are not the same thing. However, many adults don't know the difference. So, a senior who doesn't know the difference instills fear &/or a junior who doesn't know the difference demonstrates fear & groveling at the "feet" of the senior.

I've had seniors who wanted to instill fear & others who were my friends & my equals of the mat.

I recently reconnected with my first instructor after 23 years. I've remained training & have opened a dojang. He has moved on to other things in life. Although he no longer teaches, he still trains daily. I was 19 when we last saw each other. I didn't fear him, but I could not have respected him more. While I began the first phone conversation in 23 years much the way I had left our last one (in the 80's) he was quite impressed that I never stopped training. He put me at ease & made me feel as if I were having an adult conversation with him for the first time in my life.

My students call me "Mr." not "master." I'm the guy in the front of the room. I already have their attention. I don't need to have them tell me how great I am.My job is to show them how great they can become. That's the definition of a teacher, IMO.

[dragonwarrior_keltyr]

I think there is a certain amount of respect due to senior belts/the sensei. They have (hopefully) achieved their rank for a reason and I give them the respect a teacher deserves. Namely, I pay attention in class, and am willing to be corrected etc, however, outside the dojo or when not in class I see no problem with being familiar/friends with any of the higher belts.

[Kuma]

I've personally never noticed this. I've met and trained with some great karateka, and all were friendly and approachable. I'm respectful towards them as they're providing me a service (teaching me) and in the system I'm training they have a higher status than me. Perhaps it's my military background, but to me that's an important thing and worthy of respect.

I'm glad I've never had that kind of negative treatment by any senior instructors I've been fortunate enough to train with.

[Jay]

When I was training as a Kid I would say so yes but only with certain instructors. I think we were just scared due to the excessive amount of pushups we had to do if we got stuff wrong or didn't pay attention. However everyone agreed he was the best instructor.

[Harlan]

Fear? Heck, yes. Oh, it's all very friendly, and supportive. First names, Okinawan-style, personal training. And then comes bunkai. Sensei barreling down at you with bo and kiai...

Do you fear your Sensei? Do you fear the head of your system? Do you fear your seniors in the class?

[sensei8]

First of all...great topic!!

Do you fear your Sensei? Do you fear the head of your system? Do you fear your seniors in the class?

I did when I was a child. If I may quote from the bible...

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."`KJV

As an adult, to answer your questions...I never have and I never will!! Not when I was part of the general student body! Not when I was a member of the Board of Regents! Not when I was Kaicho! Not when I was the Chief Instructor of our Hombu!!

The word I've always accompanied with those of any hierarchy, including ours, is just simple RESPECT across the board.

In my own dojo, I was always BOB, just plain old BOB.

Formality has its place within its proper context and/or its proper content!! To me, this is nothing more than another form of RESPECT!!

I've only one Master, and He lives on High!!

Yes, I use Soke or Dai-Soke or Kaicho or Kancho, but whether it's in a forum, such as this, or it's in a Shindokan dojo, and/or in any normal conversation, I suppose, it's just become a natural thing for me. Especially in any forum, again, such as this is, but that's mainly for two reasons. One: RESPECT!! Two: It sure is much easier to type in the manner of which I do, than to type out that persons official title(s).

Doesn't this instill a bit of fear into you to behave correctly, according to their rules?

No!! I behave correctly because of the way my parents raised me; that's first and foremost over anything my Dai-Soke and/or anybody else in the martial arts world has tried to instill in me.

I'm the worse follower in the world. I respect my Soke/Dai-Soke, but I'm not theirs to do with as they see fit. I question everything, not because I'm disobedient, no, but because I want to see/know for myself firsthand. For every argument and/or disagreement that I've ever had with my karateka "Seniors", I could've of filled one volume after another after another. Because I'm consistent in my ways, my karateka "Seniors" have learned to respect this part of my character, and in that, they've trusted me without question. I suppose I've earned the right of being a thorn in their sides.

Does the forced practice of saying "Yes SIR!" to their question, or face corporal punishment (such as pushups) instill fear in your to answer "correctly" or be punished?

Again...NOPE!! If I end up doing a push-up...cool...push-ups are part of training and building up my body, so, shoot, give them to me. That's not punishment to me. And again, I say "YES SIR!" because that's how I was raised.

What makes these seniors, these higher ranking members of the same system that you are practicing, any better than you are? What makes them demand that you treat them in a God-like fashion? That their every utterance is law and that when they say jump, you have to ask "How high Sir?"

Before I became a "Senior", they were better than me, only as a karateka, NOT as a person!! Not one Shindokan "Senior" has ever demanded me, or anyone else for that fact, to treat them in a "God-like fashion"; our Soke/Dai-Soke wouldn't have allowed it because they didn't act all God-like. I've seen others, not of the Shindokan Hombu, act in this fashion you speak of, but, whenever I see that, I excuse myself immediately because there's only one God, and they're NOT!! They put there pants on just like I do. When any "Senior" speaks, I listen until I discover that they start to walk/talk like they're all this and a bag of chips in their style(s), and guess what to all the "SENIORS"...nobody is unbeatable...NOBODY!!

How many of the heads of your system would even acknowledge your existence, let along greet you like a friend you hadn't seen in years?

Everyone of them...each and everyone of them. It's our way. We don't shun and/or belittle any Shindokanist...no matter kyu/dan.

Funny thing...Ever since our Soke and Dai-Soke have passed away...I've more seniority than anybody in Shindokan, including our new San Dai-Soke...and I'm about laid back as a long sunny day with a cool glass of tea. I'm nobody special and I'm surely not better than anyone, and I mean ANYONE!!

[Jeffrey]

At first I had fear. Now I have respect.

[Rateh]

I've heard from many people that they are afraid of some of our instructors, this baffles me as the ones that they are afraid of are the ones that I am most comfortable with.

[Elizabeth]

I don't think I would train at a dojo where I feared the instructors. For me, fear is not a helpful part of a learning environment.

We call our head sensei "Sensei Albert" and he's the most cheerful person I've ever met. Many of the people are our dojo are children or teenagers and he is always somewhere encouraging someone or explaining a correction or giving some advice about form or attitude, and helping the students learn how to apply the mental training they receive in the dojo to their lives outside.