Insights
Sensei’s Message
A Sensei only gives credit where credit's due, and dedicated & loyal students deserve and will get the
credit.
Passion is in the heart, and a Sensei can see and recognise passion in a student in the way
they train in the Dojo and at courses. As instructors we guide and train to make students better than
ourselves, but if the student doesn't want to be guided correctly, and thus wasting our time, we don't
give ‘credits’ or ‘stickers’ for encouragement.
British Wadokai does not endorse stickers or merit
badges as incentive to train, the practise of a life-skill for survival should be incentive enough to
train. A student has to 'earn' our praise.
Karate, and in particular Wado, is a very small world (although as a system quite popular) if done in
the traditional way. In today's ‘modern teaching methods’ many traditional instructors get frustrated
at the way Wado is going, as at every turn our hands are continually being restricted in the way we
must now teach, and undermining our fundamental principles - However, I refuse to be bound in
these confines as I teach a ‘Martial Art’.
A ‘traditional’ Sensei may seem harsh at times, demonstrating impatience to some and even favouritism
to others, as well as pointing out the ‘winners and losers’, which seem to be
considered taboo in this modern ‘no losers’ society. However, these are all learning
curves and character building processes and exercises, which is something
else we are discouraged to promote and practise.
Martial-arts are turning into another 'politically correct' and 'H&S' paranoid minefield,
which has become another element of our crumbling culture and society
- taking the backbone out of us all as well as our survival instincts.
You
have to get wet to swim.
Over the past years I have seen the society become
more and more rude, violent, ignorant and arrogant, and I blame the‘softies’ in the politics that have subdued themselves to these ‘nanny-state’ fundamentalists. You have to experience pain and challenge to survive
in the 'real' world outside of the protective bubble our society is
creating for us, because if we don't,
one day - that bubble will burst!
Gary E Swift Kyoshi.