requirements to teach kendo?

[gszab]

Hi all!:cool:

My question is that if there are any requirement to be a kendo trainer(sensei) in your country or anyone may found a dojo and may teach kendo.

Thanks for your answers:)

[kendokamax]

In Canada I think you must be at least 4th dan to be a sensei.

But many dojo here in some far places of our big country don't have the chance to have a 4th dan sensei, so they have to do their best with what they have. Normaly a couple of students who have shodan or nidan will teach. Some of these dojo have a "suporting" sensei which comes 1 or twice to the club to check how are things going.

I think there is nothing wrong with a shodan having to teach others if there isn't any other way around. But that only if that particular person knows that his kendo also needs to always improve.

This summer since we were not many at our club for a couple of practices I also gave classes with other student. But I'm only ikkyu! so sad..

So all depends on the situation.

[kendo_chick]

Actually kendokamax, to be called sensei in Canada you must be a 5th dan. However, like you said, you don't have to have a resident sensei to have a club. Our instructor is a shodan, but we have a few members of the CKF come down here once or twice a year to check us out.

[ben]

Same in Aus, 5 dan = sensei.

It usually depends on who else is training in your part of the world. If you're sankyu and you're the most experienced person in the country, then it looks like you'll be taking training. Similarly, if some 17 year old shodan from Japan turns up in your town on exchange, s/he would automatically become your sempai and you could reasonably expect him/her to take training for as long as s/he is around.

This is how it started in Australia in the late 60s. A few guys got together and taught themselves from books with homemade equipment. Then someone arrived from the UK who had been graded. Then a succession of businessmen on secondment who had dan grades, and so on. Regular visits from Japanese sensei also helped. Finally a kind of critical mass was reached where the organisation started to grow itself, (still with help from Japan).

There have been people come back from Japan with one year's training from some crackpot sensei who has encouraged them to start their own dojo(s). These are usually for-profit organisations where it doesn't take long for a talented kendoka to outgrow their "instructor". It is a self-regulating system in some ways, because these students usually leave to find better teaching fairly quickly.

b

[ben]

Ah, I forgot to mention, in Australia there is also the National Coaching Accreditation Scheme that covers all sports, of which kendo has been a part since 1982. This scheme provides training and certification of coaches at three levels: level 1 = club coaching (>2 dan); level 2 = state team coaching (>3 dan) ; level 3 = national team coaching (>5 dan), with more rigorous study and testing requirements the higher you go. This is another thing to stop people opening kendo McDojos and issuing their own 10th dans.

b

[A. Henriksson]

I´m ashamed to say it but I´m the teacher in my town and I´m only ikkyu. The dojo in the closest town from here is led by a shodan although they have two nidan who doesn´t train right now.
Second closest town is led by a shodan also.
That´s life in northern Sweden for ya...

My dojo was started by some guys with no experience at all. I was taught by Tony Mårhammar, Kent Sjöström and Andreas Floberg. The first guy quit at nikkyu, Kent and Andreas went on to take shodan. Unfortunatley Kent stopped practising and Andreas moved to Stockholm which left me in charge of things.
With the help of sempai from other cities we can still continue to improve our kendo and I hope that Luleå one day has a real sensei.

To answer the question about Swedens rules for teachers grades...I don´t think we have any. At least I´ve never heard of any such rules.

Andreas if you´re reading this - hope we meet sometime soon for some keiko!

[supernils]

I think that we in sweden use to call kendokas that are 6 dan and above sensei.

Our national team coach is a 4 dan and the team taisho is 6 dan

[gszab]

Here in Hungary will be a requirement from 2005.We have to take a 1 year night course(1 afternoon per week) in a P.E university to be a "sport teacher". Without this course you can't be a kendo teacher in a dojo (it will be in the sport law).
This is the reason i started this thread. I wonder if other countries have similar rules or not?

[Charlie]

I'm pretty sure folks in the states have been very reluctant to adopt this kind of certification, but here in the states there is a great deal of resistance to the government butting into people's lives!

[Tato]

Sorry Charlie, I don't agree with you.

:confused:

May be that's not the case for teaching Kendo, but there're many profesional activities that need a gouvernement autorization in the US (medicinie, lawyer, flight licence, etc).

In many countries is mandatory to have an insourance (ie: have a federation licence) if you want to practice a sport at public instalations, and the teacher can be liable of what happens to his students.

I think that is reasonable that the teachers of something as pysical as Kendo get some regulated training. Even if they're not profesionals.

Rei

[Charlie]

Actually, Diego, I should have been more clear. I personally wouldn't mind seeing the U.S. adopt such a practice. I mostly agree with you! I mean, it wouldn't be hard to take some night courses and get certified in basics to teach or coach. Safer for all concerned.

What I meant in my original post was that a lot of *Americans* simply object to such things. Especially when it comes to starting a business, Americans like to have complete freedom and resist government interference. That said, sometimes Americans hand over liberties to the government with both hands. Just depends on the situation.

[Antonin]

The situation as I understand it in Frnce is the following :
You need to be nidan and hold a sport teaching licence if you want to open a dojo. This licence can be achieved ina yar taking evening classes, a couple of week ends and an exam of some sotr, I think. However, you will not be able to get paid for your tuitions. For this, you need a professionsal sport teaching licence, which is more difficult to get and requires more time, usually involving full time training.
Where I live now in the UK, as far ass I can tell, you don't even need to know how to do any kendo to open a dojo, and there certainly are no rules as to whom to call sensei, although most people will call people with 6thg and 7th dan this way.
Antonin

[JSchmidt]

I believe you need to be 5th Dan to open a dojo in the UK.

Jakob

[sjp]

Jakob - 5th Dan to open a UK Dojo

I dont think so..

There are plenty of us northern buggers in clubs run by people who are no where near 5th Dan.

All these dojos are on the BKA list , and if that WAS the case none of these would have ever come into existance.
We keep the kendo alive north of Watford, which i know for some of you southerners is in the barbarian outland.

Cheers

[Confound]

This is a subject that both bothers and concerns me at the same time. I don't like the thought of a club being lead by someone with little or no experience. How can someone with only sho-dan (or less!), help others improve? Their experience in kendou is so limited!

Honestly, it really irks me to hear about clubs being lead by people with low grades. i know that sometimes there isn't anyone else available, and in those situations I salute those brave enough to share their love of kendou with others, but should that be considered teaching?

I know that this post will draw heavy opposition, and probably outright anger, but that isn't my intent. (Yeah right, you're thinking, this is Confound we're talking about here.)

In all seriousness, there are many people who would like to begin studying kendou, but they have no place to do so. Kendou as a sport could profit a great deal by relaxing teaching restrictions somewhat, or modifying current rules. I would be interested in hearing others' thoughts on this matter, its a question that has bothered me from time to time.

p

[Tato]

Hi Confound

I'm luky, I'm in a city that have two well stablised dojos, so I don't have to be a pionneer.

In my opinion there're two diferent issues: managing the club and teaching.

For the managing aspect, I think that anyone with the rigth skill can manage the club and dojo, it's just an administrative task.

For the teaching part, I think that there are at least to elements to consider, first one is the level of the teacher (how they will teach something if they don't know the subject themselves?), and the seccond one is they pedagogic capacity (to know a subject is far from being a good teacher).

For a dojo without good teachers, I think that there's posible to learn trough regular practices between the member of the dojo, with help from visiting senseis. Trying to learn by sharing experiences.

In fact I guess that this is the way that most of Kendo dojos outside Japan followed. Anyway you always need someone with a minimun knowledge to start with, but I don't know where to place that "minimun" line. :confused:

Rei

[CypherSushi]

I think you should count years of practice rather than grade... Maybe the lowgraded person that leads the dojo just haven't been able to grade yet?

I feel that is the situation in our small club. Our trainer is ikkyu but have been training for over five years and has a good grasp of the pedagigic part of teaching.... At least it is better than not training at all.

[mingshi]

Er, Confound...

Please do not confuse "opening a dojo", "being able to teach", with "being a Sensei".

Normally those who cannot find a dojo/Sensei around their area would set up a Kenyukai-- "Sword""fellow""Club", more or less like a study group. I'm not sure about the details but I can imagine there will be less techique drills but more jikeiko etc.

Kendo instructors outside Japan... are not necessarily a Sensei because of the above reason. "Assistant" would be a better word, or even Senpai will do. When I started in the beginner's side, it's only a Senpai teaching all the basics. I don't even have a chance to talk to the head Japanese Sensei in Hong Kong (he's the one leading Suburi and stuff at the other side of the dojo).

You said once that you're Ikkyu and you've to be a mototachi...? Same reason. Those who are seniors would be teaching the newcomers, but that doesn't make you a Sensei!

[Confound]

Mingshi,

You raise a good point with the seperation of the three different ideas, but I didn't confuse them, i'm just curious about people's opinions on all three.

Technically, anyone can open a dojo, because it's just a practice space, and being able to teach does require both knowledge of the subject matter and pedagogy, while being a sensei is more than being able to teach. However, these are all open to debate, thus my questions.

I know I'm not a sensei, and I don't like being thrust into the role of a sempai either. It's uncomfortable for me, because I'm aware of exactly how low my skills are. it's discouraging that this role has been put on me. sometimes it really does seem pathetic.

cyphersushi,

If you'r ein an area where it is difficult to grade, or even prohibitively difficult because of distance, then that could be understandable. i can't comment on how this might be in other parts of the world.

c

[CypherSushi]

You are correct in assuming that I do live in an area where it is hard to grade even to kyu-grades. hard in the sense that we don't have many dan-graded people at all. The closest ones are 1 1/2 hours drive away.

It is a hard kendolife in the northern parts of Sweden :)

[Alex]

I started a club in Christchurch NZ in 1988. I was a Shodan at the time, and only 18 years of age. That club has since grown into countless dan grades (highest being 5th dan, a huge number of 4, 3, 2, 1 dans). Many people have come to Japan to further their studies in kendo, and it is fair to say that the club has affected hundreds of peoples lives in very positive ways. Not bad for a little club that started with only a Shodan and three keen members. Even the biggest oak starts as a tiny acorn.

Have to run, will finish this later.

a

[John W]

Too right mate!

My senpai (4th Dan) is one of Alex's students and now I have reached shodan.

I think that while it is debatable that people of a low grade can or should teach/start a club it is way better than no kendo at all:D

Think about how miserable we would all be if some powerful authority came along and said "what no sensei? well then no kendo!":p

[CypherSushi]

Argh.... don't put scary thought like that in my head. I would defenetly not like not being able to train... I am a very lazy person and Kendo is the only excersise that I actually find fun enough to keep doing.

Our teacher (I won't call him sensei out of respect to the "real" senseis out there) will take shodan shortly So then we will have at least one dan-graded in our club...
He and I have a deal that in 70 years we will meet in keiko at his or mine own dojo. I fully intend to keep that deal :)

[A. Henriksson]

I´ll be there too kohai. I shouldn´t be telling you this but I´m working on my new style that is invincible. Not itto-style, not nito-style but santo-style! By that time I´ll be a master in my style and you won´t have a chance. Not that you would have any anyway...

(Smart thing to write, now everybody thinks I just play around and don´t teach serious kendo...that should end the debate about if lowgraded can teach kendo:D )

[CypherSushi]

Ohh... but you see sempai... I have my ultra-mega-secret-ninja-tricks.

You will never stand a chance :)

(Sorry for the kind of out-of-topic post)

[Charlie]

Take heart, Confound. Many folks have been and are in your current situation. The best thing to do is simply keep on keeping on, especially with the basics, and as much instruction and guidance from higher dans as you can get.

[Confound]

Charlie,

I'm afraid I'm not in the situation you think I'm in, Charlie. i regularly train with 4th dan and above kendouka, as well as shodan to san dan and the students in my school. I'm lucky. I was just looking for people's opinions on teaching and training qualifications.

c

[sminki]

I agree that people who rank low have no business teaching kendo. Of course in areas where there are no high rank sensei, I suppose there could be clubs that practice kendo being led by lower rank people, but by no means should they do this for living or should they be called sensei. For those sho/ni/san dans "teaching", I applaud their passion for spreading kendo, but they should keep in mind that they're not quite qualified to be a true sensei (by IKF and regional kendo federations regulation). Of course, people who learn kendo under these circumstances must be tested by proper promotion test committee.

[mad_god]

I´m ashamed to say it but I´m the teacher in my town and I´m only ikkyu. The dojo in the closest town from here is led by a shodan although they have two nidan who doesn´t train right now.
Second closest town is led by a shodan also.
That´s life in northern Sweden for ya...

My dojo was started by some guys with no experience at all. I was taught by Tony Mårhammar, Kent Sjöström and Andreas Floberg. The first guy quit at nikkyu, Kent and Andreas went on to take shodan. Unfortunatley Kent stopped practising and Andreas moved to Stockholm which left me in charge of things.
With the help of sempai from other cities we can still continue to improve our kendo and I hope that Luleå one day has a real sensei.

To answer the question about Swedens rules for teachers grades...I don´t think we have any. At least I´ve never heard of any such rules.

Andreas if you´re reading this - hope we meet sometime soon for some keiko!

No need to be ashamed.
Practice hard, study a lot and again, practice hard.
Dan is a BS ranking and doens't mean anything.
If there is a meaning for the dan, that is "personal achievement".
People that want be called sensei because is 4 or 5th dan are just a shame for the name of Budo.

MAD GOD

[Solinde]

I teach iaido in my dojo although I am only ikkyu (hopefully shodan in 3 weeks :smiley: ). Of course, I don't think I know even close to enough to teach, but by teaching I give my students the ability to learn the very basics so that they can go to training camps with real sensei and learn more. At least, that is the way I see it. And, of course again, I keep in contact with my instructors (who live in another town), see them whenever I can and send them e-mail asking questions when I am not sure about things.

For me, it is sort of part of the budo spirit to do my best and try to help people learn and improve in iaido as long as it doesn't hurt my own training. Well...that sounded weird. I really don't know how to explain this is writing, and particularly not in English...hmm. Anyway, I hope you understand what I am trying to say here... :redface:

[mad_god]

I teach iaido in my dojo although I am only ikkyu (hopefully shodan in 3 weeks :smiley: ). Of course, I don't think I know even close to enough to teach, but by teaching I give my students the ability to learn the very basics so that they can go to training camps with real sensei and learn more. At least, that is the way I see it. And, of course again, I keep in contact with my instructors (who live in another town), see them whenever I can and send them e-mail asking questions when I am not sure about things.

For me, it is sort of part of the budo spirit to do my best and try to help people learn and improve in iaido as long as it doesn't hurt my own training. Well...that sounded weird. I really don't know how to explain this is writing, and particularly not in English...hmm. Anyway, I hope you understand what I am trying to say here... :redface:

You're still lucky, there are many events in the neighborhood (or even in other near countries) where good teachers on Iai can teach you many things.
You have a good heart.
Peace.

MG

[Hai_hai]

Hi all!
Hello.


My question is that if there are any requirement to be a kendo trainer(sensei) in your country...
Not really other than a lot of ambition.


or anyone may found a dojo and may teach kendo.
Yes!


Thanks for your answers
You're welcome.

[Solinde]

You're still lucky, there are many events in the neighborhood (or even in other near countries) where good teachers on Iai can teach you many things.

Yes, I am very grateful for that.


You have a good heart.
Peace.

MG
Well, thank you. And peace to you as well.

[hyuna]

If you have a club with someone who is low rank and other people who are less experienced practicing there. How are these more-beginner beginners supposed to get anywhere without some kind of "teaching"? There is teaching in clubs -- not calling the leader "sensei" does not alter that fact. And, there must be teaching in clubs, or else the club is a waste of time. If the leader tells people to bow when entering the dojo, or how to sit seiza, or to refer to people of 4+ dan rank as lastname-sensei, that is all teaching aspets of kendo, too.

So if you accept the existance of clubs, you have to accept the idea of low-ranking people teaching kendo. One necessarily entails the other.

If you just don't want these things called "dojo" run by "sensei," well, that is just a matter of language and etiquette, in my opinion. Don't get me wrong: it is an important point to get correct. However, it has nothing to do with the rightness or wrongness of teaching by low ranks.

Of course a low ranking person cannot simply run a club without ever going to see "real sensei." But that has nothing to do with rank. How legitimate is a kendo dojo run by a 5 dan who feels that they never need to practice with and learn from higher ranked sensei? Sure, it is run by a "real sensei" but I don't think anyone would claim that such a place cut off from all outside kendo instruction is a "proper dojo".