Who's afraid of Sensei?

[Shizentai]

The first time my sensei directly spoke to me in class I shouted incoherently and fell backwards off the floor... much to the endless amusement of my dojo.

[honoluludesktop]

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?

............

I am in my mid 60s, and began training in the late 60s. Not continuously of course, but with the same Sensei. The word for me was Respect, not fear.

[ptr]

OK, I'll take the risk of being controversial....

To me, any instructor relying on "Yes Sir" and pushups punishment to earn respect is not worth learning from.

[Groinstrike]

The quote from the Karate Kid, "There is no Fear in this dojo, there is no pain in this dojo" has always been a talking point between my instructors and students. IMHO a dojo without pain and fear is not worth attending.

[bushido_man96]

OK, I'll take the risk of being controversial....

To me, any instructor relying on "Yes Sir" and pushups punishment to earn respect is not worth learning from.

I'm not convinced that the "yes sirs" are there to command respect. Its just the nature of many of the types of schools. It has more to do with the discipline aspect of it than the respect aspect of it, I think. I can sir people all day long; it doesn't equate to respect.

[ptr]

Well - to me they are dangerous signs of egotistic / power trip behaviors. Especially if they don't demonstrate anything.

[bushido_man96]

I just take it as a form of acknowledgement. Teacher asks something. Answer yes sir. Teacher knows you understood. Saying "yeah, ok," would do as well, but, it isn't as structured. Many Karate students refer to their teacher as Sensei all the time. This isn't much different. Neither is the use of the word "Osu" for Kyokushin styles.

[tsd1592]

I fear my grandmaster. I fear letting him down. I fear not representing my self in a manner he would be proud of. But i have never been afraid of him.

[bushido_man96]

I fear my grandmaster. I fear letting him down. I fear not representing my self in a manner he would be proud of. But i have never been afraid of him.

Its nice to know that someone has such expectations of you, isn't it?

[mindsedgeblade]

Fear...

Maybe my first head instructor, just a bit. Not that the man himself gave any reason, as I knew he had perfect control and was perfectly friendly outside the studio. But to look at him, you knew he could squash you like a grape. He'd been through a lot of fights, and done a lot of damage- and survived just as much. I have a LOT of respect for him, and wish I had spoken to him more.

Now. Haha, not a chance. At the new school, there's plenty of ego to go around, and the instructor has less control, but the only fear response I get is nearly being run over by a car or bus on the way in. I may not always feel they deserve my respect, but I always give it. That's nothing the school or people could ever hope to accomplish- that's ME.