The
responsibilities of teachers gets a lot of discussion, but I rarely see
anything about the responsibilities of students. As adult students of the
martial arts, what are we responsible for? Are we as students
responsible for something more than showing up, being respectful and doing what
is taught in class?
Yes, we are. Students’
first responsibilities start the moment they walk into the dojo. They are
responsible for being aware and paying attention to what the dojo is like. What
is the atmosphere in the dojo? How does the teacher treat the students?
Does he treat them with respect and dignity? Or does he belittle
and demean them? Does he yell at them? How do the students treat
the teacher? Is he treated with respect, or is he treated like some sort
of princeling, with students groveling and debasing themselves before him?
Do the students seem afraid of the teacher? Does the teacher
seem to take advantage of his position?
Being aware of
things like this and checking on them are part of our responsibility even
before the we join the dojo and become students.. These are things we
should be looking at when evaluating whether or not to become a student
somewhere. When you join a dojo and begin studying, you will learn not
just the physical techniques that are being taught, you will also learn from
the way people interact with each other. Do you want to learn how to be
disrespected, verbally and possibly physically abused? Do you want to
learn how to stand and absorb yelling? To learn how to accept being
demeaned and belittled? You are responsible for what you are learning.
If it looks like this is part of what is being taught, your responsible
for making the decision to not attend classes where abuse is part of the
lesson.
We, as students, are responsible for ourselves. Teachers and
sempai have responsibilities, but the ultimate responsibility for what we learn
resides with us. We have to go in with our eyes open and our minds alert.
This remains true after we’ve found a teacher and school that we feel we
can trust. Students’ responsibilities don’t end just because they found
someone they are comfortable learning from, can respect and who offers them
respect in return.
I was in the Judo dojo on Tuesday, my first practice after being
away for several weeks because I’d been traveling in Japan (practicing other
stuff) and then I was sick. As a student there, I’m responsible for being
aware when I’m sick and contagious and not exposing the teacher and my fellow
students to whatever crud I’ve got. I stayed away for a week until I was
better. I wasn’t 100% yet though, and it was my responsibility to be
aware of my condition and adjust my training appropriately. I knew
I didn’t have my usual stamina or strength that night. In one way, this
was a great training opportunity for me, because when we did some newaza
drills, I had to do them correctly. I didn’t have the strength or stamina
to muscle my way through the practice with weak technique and a lot of muscle.
In the other direction, I had to be aware of my physical limits and know
to say “enough” if I got too close to those limits.
Towards the end of the evening we did some newaza randori, and I
got through that without getting too winded or worn out. A little later
though, we started some standing randori sets. When Sensei offered one
set to me, I passed on the chance. I could have gotten out there and mixed it
up with some of the strong young guys, but I didn’t. Not because I didn’t
want to; I love randori. There is little in life that has the
intensity, immediacy and complete mental and physical involvement of judo
randori. I’m first in line, though, to be responsible for my safety and
my training partner’s safety. I knew that without adequate stamina, I
wasn’t physically strong enough to safely work with my partner. If I
can’t count on my own strength, I can’t protect myself or my partner.
Randori is high speed, high intensity, free fighting. If I get
tired and make a mistake because of exhaustion at a critical moment, I can
easily get hurt. I’ve seen it happen to people in the past. They
push themselves too far, and when they need to protect themselves with a good
fall or a quick reaction, they are too tired to do the technique properly, and
they end up with an injury. This hurts their partner too.
Every person training should feel some responsibility for their
partner’s well being. I know that I do, and on the couple of occasions my
partner has been injured, I have felt horrible that it happened.
Afterward I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what I could have done
to prevent the injury. The partner
of nearly every person I have seen injured during practice has felt the same
way. We are working together, so part of my responsibility is to see that
you don’t get hurt. The few times I have run into people who truly don’t
care about their partners, I’ve stopped working with them. The only time
I ever saw my first judo teacher truly furious was when a guy was condescending
and uncaring towards a partner’s well-being. That guy didn’t stick around
very long. One of the fundamental principles of Kodokan Judo is “Jita
Kyoei” 自他共栄 or “mutual benefit and welfare.” If someone can’t be
bothered to concern themselves with his partner’s well-being, I don’t want them
training with me or anyone I care about. My teacher at the time felt the
same way, and let this guy know it. The guy couldn’t be bothered to care,
and ended up leaving instead.
We train together and we have to take care of each other. If
for any reason you aren’t certain you can train safely, it’s your
responsibility to stop. Any responsible teacher will respect that
decision.
Students are responsible for the dojo. Yes, the teacher leads.
We often say that it is “Sensei’s dojo,” but without students, there is
no dojo; there’s just a guy in the corner practicing by himself. In
any good dojo I’ve been in, whether in Japan or the United States or Europe,
the students have taken a lot of responsibility for the dojo. It’s their place
and their practice as much as the teacher’s. As a student, before and after practice I run to make sure I
get to a broom Sensei does. We make sure the dojo is a safe, clean place
to train. This means a few minutes of care before and after practice, and
keeping an eye out for things that could go wrong during practice.
Everyone is responsible for making sure there is nothing out of place in
the dojo. A belt or a bokken in the wrong place can trip someone doing
paired practice and have all sorts of unhappy consequences. We students are
responsible for keeping an eye open for things out of place.
I also help make sure new people in the dojo understand the
etiquette and expectations of our dojo. As part of the dojo, as a member
of the dojo, I’m partly responsible for the atmosphere in the dojo. I’m
one of the people whose job it is to make sure people don’t do anything that
could be dangerous. Nearly every time I’ve had to say something to someone,
they’ve apologized and thanked me for telling them they were doing something
potentially dangerous. People, including me, don’t always realize we’re
about to be in the way. A polite, respectful word of safety is part of
everyone’s responsibility.
We students are responsible for our training, for what we learn
and for how well we learn. This is a tough one, and comes back around to
the first part. We are responsible for choosing our teachers and the
group we will train with. We remain responsible for our training every second
after that as well. As my high school English teacher used to say “I can
lay out the banquet for you, but I can’t force you to eat it.” She was
talking about the beauty and wonder of English literature, but it’s just the
same with budo.
My teachers have all sorts of wonderful things to offer me.
It’s up to me to study what they offer, practice it, and internalize the
lessons so they are a part of me. The first thing this means is
that practice doesn’t end when class does. It is my responsibility to
think about, study and practice the lessons outside of class. Even in
Judo, which is all about working with a partner, there are plenty of things for
me to practice and study outside class. I can work on individual
movements. I can read books about applying techniques and about the
principles of Judo. Today, unlike the dark ages when I started training,
there are millions of videos of good martial arts available for free, 24 hours-a-day
on Youtube. For any popular martial art, and a surprising number of very
small ones, the biggest problem a student has who wants to study something on
video is wading through the bad budo videos to find the good ones. There
are plenty of great videos of Judo, Karate, Aikido, Iaido, Jodo, Kendo,
Jujutsu, and nearly any other art you’re interested in. If obscure koryu
budo is your thing, you’re still in luck. Go check out Gudkarma’s Youtube channel and you’ll find stuff on obscure arts you didn’t know
existed.
There are plenty of books on budo out there too. There is a
lot of really bad misinformation around, but it’s still our responsibility to
educate ourselves about our art. If Sensei recommends a book, that’s a
clear sign that we should read it. The book might help us put things that
we do in class in perspective. It might teach us something of the history
of our art or maybe help us figure out techniques on our own. Sensei can’t
do it for us. We have have to read the
book and find out. It’s also our responsibility to read more than just
the stuff our teachers recommend. There are lots of good books out there.
If you’re not sure, ask Sensei and other students. They might even
be able to loan you a few books. I know my wife would be thrilled to have
me loan out two or three hundred books and not be able to get them back.
Read. Learn. Get some additional perspective on your
training. Additional perspective and information will help you ask better
questions during class.
As a student, it’s my responsibility to learn. Sensei
teaches stuff; he puts it out there, but I have to learn what he’s offering.
I have to go home and practice. I have to work at what I’m studying.
If I go to class and I haven’t practiced during the week, Sensei can see
that. It’s my responsibility. If this is important enough for me to
show up to class regularly, it’s important enough for me to take some time and
practice at home. Whether using the sword or the jo or tying a belt to a
post so you can practice throws or whatever point that needs work, it’s the
student’s responsibility to work on it. My big thing right now is
engaging my koshi. Kiyama Sensei says I’m not using my koshi as
effectively as I should be at my level. So that’s what I’m working on.
I know I look silly when I’m practicing, because it’s just me slowly
moving across the basement focusing on keeping my koshi under my shoulders.
Sometimes I’m doing it from my knees. Sometimes I’m standing up.
This is what I work on. Sensei fulfilled his responsibility.
He identified my biggest weakness for me and told me what I need to do.
After that, all of the responsibility is mine.
If my problem is a lack of stamina or upper body strength, you’ll
see me in a gym working on that. I mention those, because they have both
been issues for me in the past. If a student recognizes a weakness, her
job is to start correcting it. Sometimes a teacher or senior student will
alert us to a point that needs special attention. Sometimes we can
identify those on our own. Either way, our responsibility is to give
those points attention and make the improvements ourselves. That way,
when we go to class, Sensei can teach us something new instead of repeating
herself for the 900th time.
Our training is our responsibility, not our teachers’. We
are responsible for choosing our teachers and fellow students wisely.
Once we’ve done that though, our responsibility doesn’t end. We are
still responsible for the dojo, the safety of ourselves and our fellow
students, and what we learn. That means that we help in the dojo, we
watch out for each other, and when class is over, we go home and work on our
weak points. We don’t stop learning because someone said “Class is over. Have
a good night.” That’s when the real learning begins. Don’t abandon
your responsibility for yourself and your learning.
