I received a phone call from a student that was apologetic
about not being at class lately. This
student had been hurt a few months back and the nature of the injury had left
the student in a situation that any workout at all would aggravate the situation. They explained that the last time they were
in that the student they were training with further caused injury and found it
either funny or did it intentionally. I
was taken aback. Wounded in fact. I had never once thought that someone in our
ranks, our brothers, our comrades, would take pleasure or find it a point of
comedy to cause harm to one of his own, especially for no real reason other than
some abhorrent and sociopathic reason.
This has got me thinking about ground rules
and responsibilities.
I passed this information onto Sensei and we discussed some
of the matter to see what the best possible solution would be. We both agreed, simply, that anyone caught
hurting another would be dismissed from our dojo, with as much humility and
dishonor as possible. Such behavior wouldn’t
be tolerated.
What is the purpose of training? Is it simply to become a fireplug to put out
danger as it arises? Is it selfish and
ego driven so that in the end we become, not better members of society but monsters? Is it militaristic by nature and thus,
anti-social, a boys club for arrogant, tough men? I’ve seen a few dojo’s like this, but not
many. I’ve seen a few service professionals
like this, but as a friend from Corp said, “You learn real quick to be
upstanding amongst the other men, after all, that guy is going to be standing
right behind you when the firing starts.”
The reality is the opposite.
The longer amongst people with the skill and the talent to kill others
the more respectful and human people become.
Perhaps it’s the slow dawning of enlightenment which awakens in a person
the realization of how precious each moment.
Most likely though it’s the realization that this shit hurts when it is
done to you and nothing is more motivating than pain as a reminder of what we
are really doing. But this concept of
pain is not a punishment, or a vindication.
We learn to let up early and often to avoid hurting each other.
Also the sharing of such secrets in the company of danger
tends to give us a sense of comradeship.
We begin to view those that we see three or four times a week as
brothers and sisters. As you age and gain rank, these comrades become your
children. So it is difficult when you
hear that one of your children is being bullied.
I have expectations.
I admit it. I expect our black
belts to have certain qualities.
Teacher / Mentor
As a teacher the black belt’s responsibility is pass on the
things they have learned. This means
more than the simple techniques. Any
robot, television station, or high school textbook can give you rudimentary
understanding of rote ideals. What a
teacher is really suppose to do is help guide the individual toward some
goal. And, from what I can tell, I feel
our goal is humanity. That our goal is
not simply passing on ancient fighting techniques, but the act of helping
create thinking, living, human beings. A
teacher therefore oversees as well as instructs. A teacher reminds as well as guides.
Friend
We are social creatures that in the end enjoy the company of
others. As part of our own growth into
becoming true human beings we need to remove the obstacles that keep us from interacting
well with others. It is because of this
there is an expectation from our black belts to be more than instructors, but
to be there on some level for those moments, such as this one, where one of
your fellow buyu is not sure how to proceed.
Student
You are not the boss of it all, sorry. But you’re just like
the rest of us, black belt and all. The
world isn’t going to bow to you. It isn’t
going to explode if you die. It most
likely doesn’t even really notice you.
It shouldn’t. You’re
responsibility is to you. To your own
growth and ability to become something of yourself. This is why you should never lose that spirit
of being a student. It will keep you
young at heart as you are constantly testing the waters.
Protector
That’s right, you know what I mean. That we have a responsibility to look after
those around us, especially those that come to use for support. This doesn’t mean you go looking for arguments
and fights and looking to defend ‘honor’ or your ‘rep’ or this weird social perception
called ‘respect’. Those are all fallacies
and frankly, unrelated to being a grown up.
Protection is about truly looking out for the safety and sanity of
others (even yourself yes, but not for these narcissistic reasons above).
