Yes, Sensei
"Thank you, Sensei." Huh? Sensei who? I turned to look at a student for whom I just made a correction during a recent practice. "Were you talking to me? " That caught me by surprise. "Please don't call me that. Calling me Meipo is just fine."
At Capitol Hill Aikikai, we have a very casual, family-like culture. Students have been calling the instructors, Mike and me, by our given names.
Several years ago, a student tried calling me "Sensei" and I told him to stop. "But YOU ARE our sensei . . . " he protested. "Yes, I'm your instructor, but to me, I am just a sempai further along on the same path. It's my pleasure to share what I know with you." The student teased me for my "So Buddhist!" answer, but he complied.
The late Kenneth Cottier Sensei told me about the first time he was called sensei by his students in Hong Kong. He resisted it for many years because he did not feel that he was good enough to be called a "Sensei". Yet, that clashed with the Chinese tradition of paying respect to one's teacher. His students were very persistent and they taught kohais, like me, to follow suit. He just could not make us stop. In the 90s, even after having practiced for 30 years, being a rokudan, and having taught hundreds of students, Cottier Sensei said he still harbored that sentiment.
The late Henry Kono did not like to be called "Sensei" either. The first time I met him, he promptly told me: "Don't call me Sensei. My mother named me Henry. Just call me Henry." That was plenty clear to me. If I needed to know why, he would have told me. So, I did not ask. In addition, Henry instructed me (the uke) to stand there with him when he was talking during a demo. "No need to kneel when I talk," he said.
Are teachers and students equals? I guess the answer varies a lot depending who you ask. Some dojos observe very traditional, formal hierarchy and the teachers are like gods. Some instructors choose to be very casual and friendly with students. Off the mat, teacher and students mingle regardless of their Aikido ranking. No matter what kind of attitude you choose to maintain, however, the moment practice starts, an instructor can never be equals with students.
With this current student, I told him about an interview of John Edwards, the former senator and presidential candidate after his fall from grace. Edwards says that he was once a down-to-earth kind of guy until people around him started telling him how special he was. At first, he shrugged it off. But then, as more and more people told him so, he started believing that he was really that special -- so special that he thought he could get away with things that a down-to-earth John Edwards would never have done.
I pled with the student, "I am not John Edwards. From his story, however, the lesson is that even the most down-to-earth person may develop an overblown self image and become vain. To me, 'Sensei' is an older, god-like being. I don't identify with that imagery. So, please do not test me. Just let me stay as your fellow student, Meipo."
Read [A God, A Parent And A Friend]
At Capitol Hill Aikikai, we have a very casual, family-like culture. Students have been calling the instructors, Mike and me, by our given names.
Several years ago, a student tried calling me "Sensei" and I told him to stop. "But YOU ARE our sensei . . . " he protested. "Yes, I'm your instructor, but to me, I am just a sempai further along on the same path. It's my pleasure to share what I know with you." The student teased me for my "So Buddhist!" answer, but he complied.
The late Henry Kono did not like to be called "Sensei" either. The first time I met him, he promptly told me: "Don't call me Sensei. My mother named me Henry. Just call me Henry." That was plenty clear to me. If I needed to know why, he would have told me. So, I did not ask. In addition, Henry instructed me (the uke) to stand there with him when he was talking during a demo. "No need to kneel when I talk," he said.
Are teachers and students equals? I guess the answer varies a lot depending who you ask. Some dojos observe very traditional, formal hierarchy and the teachers are like gods. Some instructors choose to be very casual and friendly with students. Off the mat, teacher and students mingle regardless of their Aikido ranking. No matter what kind of attitude you choose to maintain, however, the moment practice starts, an instructor can never be equals with students.
With this current student, I told him about an interview of John Edwards, the former senator and presidential candidate after his fall from grace. Edwards says that he was once a down-to-earth kind of guy until people around him started telling him how special he was. At first, he shrugged it off. But then, as more and more people told him so, he started believing that he was really that special -- so special that he thought he could get away with things that a down-to-earth John Edwards would never have done.
I pled with the student, "I am not John Edwards. From his story, however, the lesson is that even the most down-to-earth person may develop an overblown self image and become vain. To me, 'Sensei' is an older, god-like being. I don't identify with that imagery. So, please do not test me. Just let me stay as your fellow student, Meipo."
Read [A God, A Parent And A Friend]
Love this.
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