Underqualified Kendo Teachers

[JByrd]

"I'm not a Sensei, but I play one in the Dojo..." I suspect there are more than a few people like me out there, running a Kendo club without having high rank.

When my Sensei passed away I wasn't ready to take over, but I had the choice of taking the lead or watching the club fall apart. I didn't have the experience or the confidence to hold myself up as a Kendo no Sensei. I did not require the students to bow to me as a Sensei, call me Sensei, or treat me like a Sensei. I was just Jon, running the class as best I could.

Eventually I moved away and started a new club. At that time I reversed my attitude. I decided that someone had to act like Sensei or the students (few of whom have any background in traditional martial arts) could not learn how to treat a Sensei. I reasoned that reigi has to be practiced on a regular basis just like everything else, and I would be remiss if one of my students went to another club without knowing how to behave.

I still don't have the rank to call myself a Kendo no Sensei, but I have my students call me Sensei and treat me like a Sensei in the dojo. It's been really hard to live up to the example of my teacher, and figure out what it means to take on the responsibility of having students. I feel a twinge of discomfort every time a student calls me Sensei.

I feel lucky that Kendo has such well developed pedagogy and training methods. I have confidence that if I stay faithful to what I've learned, I'll be okay even though I have so far to go.

Does every dojo need a Sensei (or in my case, a "Sensei practice dummy")? Do you think it's wrong for a mere San Dan to call himself "Sensei?"

[AGLkenshi]

as Ni Kyu, i am still far from any authority as to a sensei's duties. however, there are two senior students (ni dan and san dan) at my dojo who often act as the instructors when there are no sensei present, a frequent enough event. They command, act, speak, enforce etiquette, and teach with all the no nonsense outlook that our sensei have. However, when a new student who is not informed of their rank calls them "Sensei" they always are sure to politely remind the student that they are not yet a sensei. In which case, they prefer the title -san, as in Mori-san or Smith-san, etc. a respectful term for "Mr." Because of this, I always designate the teachers of my dojo into two groups, the sensei, and the instructors (below 4 Dan but with informal teaching authority).
For any dojo, I feel there is no shame in not having a sensei, as long as the teacher fills the same inspirational, authoritative guidance role. Perhaps you could have the students address you as instructor, or -san? the role you play would be just the same.
Maybe its a different scenario when a dojo is completely absent of yon dan or above sensei, i dont know.

[jmarsten]

I have long held that while someone may not be 5 Dan(AUSKF level) they are still the sensei of the dojo. I agree with you that if you don't practice proper etiquette then when you do have a sensei visit the students think it is OK to call them by their their first name. In short, failures in manners are moral failures in kendo. If the students don't practice proper manners with you then they will surely not when the time comes. If you are the one teaching the class then within that class you are the sensei. When you are out on the larger stage then you are the student.

[Kent Enfield]

I’m in a similar situation as you are. A new kendo club started ay my university, with only a few of the other members having any experience. We made weekly trips to our parent club to get instruction, and then would practice what we were taught at our university club. New people would join the club, and not everyone would head up to Obukan. Within a year or so, I was the only one of the original members still practicing, and had ended up as the senior person in the dojo. I knew (and still know) I was horribly underqualified, so I made sure no one called me “sensei” and I led things from the top of the student side of the dojo. No one sat on the other side, except when one of the instructors from Obukan would come down.

When I was only sankyu, Stroud sensei came down to visit. When we lined up, he asked, “You still lead class from over there?” I managed to hold out until ikkyu before sitting on the high side of the dojo, justifying it to myself as you did—“Someone needs to act like a sensei, so the new people know how to act when one shows up.” Then some Japanese students started coming and despite my objections insisted on calling me sensei. I don’t know whether they were mocking me or not, but it stuck.

I’ve gotten used to it. Going to Japan and hearing daycare assistants called sensei helped with that. Now the only times it’s a sticking point are when a group of us visit our parent dojo, and I have to remind my students (accepting that they're "my students" was part of coming to terms with being addressed as"sensei") that I’m just another student there; and when my sempai from there visit us and call me sensei. Though I understand the logic (“This is your club”), it still feels very strange.

I guess this is just a long-winded way of saying that I agree with Marsten sensei.

[hamish]

The other option is to have them call you sempai. If you are unhappy being called sensei, this at least gives you some position above everyone else. Dojo don't run very well as a democracy or a collective. Someone needs to be in charge. Sensei is only a title anyway, it denotes a teaching role, independent of any rank (as a word, some federations may have rules)

Being called -san should not be an option - that is the way you speak to anyone in Japanese. In the example above about senior students, they are correctly addressed as sempai ("those who have gone before" loosely translated)

[hobbit]

I was in a similar situation following the death of my sensei, running the dojo as a mere nidan. I never felt comfortable being called sensei, but for me anyway, sempai was as far as I would go, someone has to instill proper reigei into the students, and I felt it had at the very least, to come from the top by example, which at the time was me.

[Charlie]

Great thread. Let me just add that in our club we behave as if etiquette shifts subtly in different situations. I may be referred to informally as sensei and I often refer to others who are not go-dan as so-and-so-sensei at club practice or in conversation. I usually say something like, "Just call me Charlie" when addressed this way but sometimes I ignore it because, as I understand it, sensei is a somewhat broad form of address in its native tongue and, you're right, I am doing the instructing, as clumsy and inadequate as that instruction may be (*smiles depreciatingly*). But in a situation where there are 5-dans and higher, I make a point to refer to so-and-so-sensei, and so-and-so-san, distinct, out of respect for the presence of those higher-ups.

Manners, etiquette, is a shifting thing, I think, and not just in kendo culture. Think about all the little things we do in the west that are similarly not fixed. For example, my wife is always "reminding" me of small nuances of behavior that I flatten and squish in my obtuseness, such as never asking a married couple when they will have children unless they first bring up the fact that they are trying; this is to keep from hurting their feelings if they have been trying for a while without success; in a one on one with the man, I might be free to just blurt it out; never, ever around them as a couple. Or, never mention that a woman is pregnant until she makes a point of it; she may simply be coping with a weight problem. Just like the sensei issue, a woman's pregnancy can be right there staring you in the face, but you do NOT say anything about it until she rubs her stomach and says, "Of course, we're very excited about having the baby, I'm due in June," or what have you. You see what I mean? It shifts. I might say nothing at club practice when called sensei. But if there are higher-ups, I'll remind them, "No, no, just call me Charlie."

[ben]

You're spot on Charlie. Excellent illustration of the nuances of dojo (and other) etiquette.

JByrd I think you're on the right track. Of course literally you should never refer to yourself as sensei, which I'm sure you know. But also I think you'll notice that even the really high-level sensei gently resist being treated as a sensei, or even being considered someone who has kendo to aspire to. Frequently they will say "I don't have very good kendo but...", or "I'm still learning this...", or "I only learned how to do a proper men cut last year..." This is not false modesty, it is usually genuine appreciation of how little they know. The difference between them and us mortals is that they have glimpsed the edge of the kendo universe. I'm lucky if I can see past my own men-gane...

I think it is right that you should "feel a twinge". Being a sensei-type-figure should never start to feel comfortable, like it is your due. But you can also recognise that they are not showing respect to you (only), more to the idea or the position of "sensei". It is a reflection of *their* state of mind and development. I think so long as you resist the notion of being a sensei, yet grudgingly accept the responsibility of *having to be one for the sake of your students*, you will always do the right thing. And it sounds like that's what you are doing already.

Since I "crossed the floor" I have come to think being a sensei is like being a famous actor. Everyone thinks they know who "Tom Cruise" is, but actually there are (at least) two Tom Cruises. One is a famous actor, a face, a brand name worth $30mil per picture. The other is a man called Tom Cruise who only those close to him know. The two are only superficially similar. Being Tom Cruise is a juggling act between remembering the difference between the two. In his world, as in ours, if you start to "believe your own hype", you are lost.

b

[Wark 1978]

when i started working at a junior high school in japan, i was asked by the english teachers what i wanted to be called. i said that michael would just be fine but it ended up being michael-sensei. i was a bit uncomfortable with it at first as i'm not a qualified teacher, i'm only a native speaker with a university degree, as these teachers spent years at university to be entitled to be called sensei.

at the end of the day though, i am there to be a sensei. i am there to give not just the students but also the english teachers guidance and i am responsible for making sure that the students english improves (if they can be bothered). i suppose that i am called sensei with some justification but i don't insist on it.

i think that it's admirable that jbyrd, hobbit and kent enfield have taken on the mantle of being the sensei even when they don't necessarily feel that they are qualified to do so or feel comfortable doing so. at the end of the day, you are, because those below you look to you for guidance and your actions will have a big influence on their kendo career. the role of sensei is much bigger than the word itself.

[kendobaka]

Our club has been blessed with many high ranked, and very skilled sensei, and for that, I am very grateful.

I am one of the senior students at my club, and sometimes I help out in the class. I remind students to who sometimes refer to me as "Sensei" to merely call me "Sempai" to try and build a semblance of the Kohai / Sempai structure that exists in Japan.

[louisvandalen]

Or, never mention that a woman is pregnant until she makes a point of it; she may simply be coping with a weight problem.

Man, last time I didn't mention her pregnancy I ended up in court and it was all to late. Wish she would of had a weight problem.

Best Regards,

Louis van Dalen M.D.*

P.S. if you know off more women that have problems I'll be happy to examin them. I'm not a real doctor yet but I was in a hospital at least once. For little funding I can give classes to, I'm currently working on my new courses: "Brainsurgery for dummies" and "Traditional Medicine, from beer tot coka"

"The one that teaches himself had an idiot for a teacher."

*(maniac dutchy)

[Charlie]

Hahahahahahahahaha!

Ahem, sorry, back on topic...

[bwaichu]

"I'm not a Sensei, but I play one in the Dojo..." I suspect there are more than a few people like me out there, running a Kendo club without having high rank.

When my Sensei passed away I wasn't ready to take over, but I had the choice of taking the lead or watching the club fall apart. I didn't have the experience or the confidence to hold myself up as a Kendo no Sensei. I did not require the students to bow to me as a Sensei, call me Sensei, or treat me like a Sensei. I was just Jon, running the class as best I could.

Eventually I moved away and started a new club. At that time I reversed my attitude. I decided that someone had to act like Sensei or the students (few of whom have any background in traditional martial arts) could not learn how to treat a Sensei. I reasoned that reigi has to be practiced on a regular basis just like everything else, and I would be remiss if one of my students went to another club without knowing how to behave.

I still don't have the rank to call myself a Kendo no Sensei, but I have my students call me Sensei and treat me like a Sensei in the dojo. It's been really hard to live up to the example of my teacher, and figure out what it means to take on the responsibility of having students. I feel a twinge of discomfort every time a student calls me Sensei.

I feel lucky that Kendo has such well developed pedagogy and training methods. I have confidence that if I stay faithful to what I've learned, I'll be okay even though I have so far to go.

Does every dojo need a Sensei (or in my case, a "Sensei practice dummy")? Do you think it's wrong for a mere San Dan to call himself "Sensei?"

This is from my Iaido perspective, but I think it still applies.

I help out beginner students when asked or when I see they are doing something wrong. I am not a sensei. I do not hold a dan rank. But helping out each other is still important.

In your case, I would not call you sensei. I would, however, call you sempai since you are the student who has been performing kendo the longest in the club.

Brian

P.S. How do you handle ranking your students? Do you send them to another dojo to be tested?

[JByrd]

P.S. How do you handle ranking your students? Do you send them to another dojo to be tested?

We are a (probationary) member of the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation, and we go before PNKF rank examination boards, which comply with AUSKF standards.

[Chusan]

Similar situation here.
But I won`t like any of my students calling me "sensei" or even sempai. I`m "Georg" and that`s fine for us. When talking with Japanese senseis visiting us, I`m introduced as "coach" - which is a very good word I guess. If they chose to call me sensei, okay, I`ll be proud about. But it`s not that important.
Good training and pupils learning good Kendo is more important than such words IMHO.