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Previous Articles
Because of conversations I’ve had with other Sensei’s
and students recently, I thought I would address two of the topics of those
conversations... How permanent is a black belt promotion and what responsibility
does a Master have to their own personal progress.
The
Sensei giveth and the Sensei taketh away!!!!
Para-phrasing yet not trying to be sacrilegious,
this is my policy. When I promote someone, it is based on that student meeting
certain requirements. This in short and simply put, qualifies him or her to wear
a black belt for as long as those requirements are being met. When said
requirements stop being met then I no longer recognize that person as a black
belt. I award a black belt for the life of the activity only. I have black belts
leave like everyone else. When they do, they leave our agreement of recognition
of rank behind. Obviously you can’t take away someone’s knowledge and that
is well and good but you do not have to under write it any longer. It has
nothing to do with control or being spiteful. It has to do with this: When a
student comes in to your world they accept that world in total, or they should
quit .A karate school is not a democracy. It is run by a Sensei who makes the
rules and enforces them. That is how it works best. I’ve seen people try it
other ways and it is always a disaster. The outside world creeps in and the lack
of discipline and natural order of things destroys moral and the security the
students feel by knowing that the same rules apply to everyone. So, with that
having been said; a student enters your place and extracts from you all the
knowledge they can over a period of time. Along the way you recognize the
utilization of that knowledge by giving them rank designations. At any time a
student shows a degeneration of interest or skills they cease to be advanced in
their rank designation .If a person is granted a black belt does not this same
approach apply. If not, why not? A black belt is not a permanent designation. It
is a symbol only, a symbol which can only be maintained through work and skill
level. If you accept a black belt from me it is because you accepted my judgment
of your worthiness to wear it. If you accept it on the front end under that
criteria then accept what happens later if I change that judgment. You can’t
have it both ways. Here is the bottom line.... A person can be awarded a black
belt in my school, quit, and consider themselves still a black belt if they so
chose. They can tell anyone who cares to listen that they are a black belt.
Under the conditions of which they accepted the promotion they are not. If I am
asked I don’t hesitate to tell people that only active black belts are black
belt in my school. You may have the experience and knowledge of a black belt but
in reality because of continued inactivity, the skill level is diminishing
rapidly. The purpose of your rank is not being served. A black belt has been the
recipient of time and effort on behalf of the dojo instructors and is honor
bound to give back what he/she has taken. When this stops the bond is broken.
This is a tradition of the honor code. The spoken word without written contract.
It is not a personal thing. It is a standard consistent principal. If it gets
personal, so be it. Certainly I have had people drop by the way side that I
consider still a black belt. An "Honorary" black belt; or a retired
black belt. I do not put them in the same category as a "Working"
black belt. If I have a black belt drop out and come back, normally I let him
resume his training as a black belt...BUT.... he’d better hit the ground
running. He has had his last vacation. How do I feel about drop out high Dans or
Masters? The same... I was a drop out Master. When I came back some of my
students outranked me and others were 10th Dans with their own associations.
Tough for me... Good for them. That’s the way it should have been. No one ask
me to quit. But hey, at least I didn’t reduce myself to a hanger on. When I
stopped being a working sensei I didn’t fake it. Funny thing, although I was
gone for a few years some of the people that stayed on didn’t do any more than
I did during my absence. So how do I feel about that kind of Dan/Master? Better
not put that in print...My kid-students read this. Just let me say that when a
masters belt size starts growing faster than his knowledge it might be time to
re-evaluate your approach to your art. Problem is, Masters are generally not
accountable to anyone any longer and can ignore any performance standards. If an
association wanted to protect the standards of the art and Master Shimabuku,
they would re-test or re-evaluate all Masters holding rank in their association
every five years. With the exception of those with medical problems all masters
should be required to perform up to physical and academic standard commensurate
with their rank. This would force those who are not actually active to either
retire or accept a conditional degree from the association until such time as
they can represent their rank as a full-fledged working master. More than
anything we owe this to the young black belts and mid-Dans who are confused and
frustrated by double standards. My fellow Masters and I have reached an age
where nothing physical is as easy as it once was. But does that mean that we
can’t still be the best we can be? Effort is relative in some sense but lack
of it isn’t. Being a master is an obligation of example. It is not The Royal
Crown of exclusion and exception. These are my personal values and opinion. I am
a working Master/Sensei and will be until the floor swallows me up, or Mother
Nature counts me out. When that happens my goal is to have produced other
working Master/Sensei’s with the same expectations and values. That is the
only reference of immortality I care to have.
Denny
Shaffer, Ku-Dan
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