The Sensei

• Rule 1.  The Sensei is always right
• Rule 2. When in doubt refer to rule 1.
• Rule 3. When all else fails, go back to rule 1.
  

This does not mean the Sensei is infallible; it simply pertains to discipline in the dojo and how one interacts with one’s Sensei. In our discipline, at the dojo and outside of the dojo, this code of conduct is always in effect and non-negotiable. Perhaps in the military this  is the reason for the officers’ club?

However, a true Sensei always reflects on his actions and those of his student long after the student has forgotten about it and perhaps even forgotten the Sensei. When a student crosses the line, confusing friendliness and courtesy with friendship, ill will often results.

Ego, Moral Equivalency, Justifications, and Political Correctness:

When you enter the dojo, check your ego at the entrance. Ego leads to the confusion of justification and illogical reasoning generally and specifically as it pertains to participation at the dojo.

Knowledge in one field does not make a person qualified in another. In recent times the doctrine of political correctness teaches there are no lines. Right and wrong do not exist. There are no absolutes. Nothing is black and white; it is about shades of grey. Perhaps it is so. But in the dojo there are rules, and sometimes there are exceptions. The rules pertain to issues of safety and the esoteric ambiguities that the Sensei is aware of but the student is unaware of. Judgment makes the difference in the application. If not, you walk the tightrope of hypocrisy. How far will you fall? That depends.

Broadcasting – Receiving:

This is another intrinsic element akin to the invisible line.  The teacher is broadcasting, but if you are tuned in to another frequency, different channel or have your “connection device” turned off, how can  or will you “receive” i.e. learn?

Sighted But Blind:

During a recent interview, Andrea Bocelli, the famous Italian vocalist was asked about his loss of sight, how and when it occurred, and his sense of loss due to blindness. His reply was piercingly brilliant, and insightful.

He said; “Many are sighted but blind. I am blind, but I see.”

Life is about lessons; some learned easily, others through trial and error, and the famous or infamous “school of hard knocks.”

I am reminded of a famous Chinese saying of great significance and relevance in the dojo and life.
“Eat bitter to taste sweet.”

Another favorite of mine speaks to the frustration when you do all you can for another but the person fails to “understand.”

When all else fails, and the Sensei’s suggestions, experience, wisdom and advise fall upon the deaf ears of the student, I find that this saying puts it all into perspective:

Pronounced phonetically as “Jahn lo sen”  Translates to- Don’t waste your breath!”

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