Coach vs Teacher vs Sensei
(Extracted from Iaido-L)
I'd like to get the group's opinion about what they believe the role of their
instructor should be. Is it right to expect your instructor to be more than a
coach. Meaning, a person who infuses his/her teaching with concepts that go
beyond form? I've always thought of a sensei as someone who can bring a
philisophical, if not spiritual, component to their teaching. This I hold to be
at a higher level than say, coaching. But, is this philisophical/spiritual bent
too much to expect of someone who is occupying that role? What do you think?
On Tue, 26 Mar 2002 00:00:21 -0500 Automatic digest processor
wrote:
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David M. Jacobs
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Subject: Spiritual Teachers
I can see this topic will be getting pushed all over the place, so I'm going to
put my .02 in early.
Any really good teacher of anything can set a good life example for students.
She need not be an MA teacher. As John Ray said sometime back, the best teachers
show it simply by their actions in everyday life. While my teacher, Mr. Otani,
has set those examples, other than to tell stories in the dojo from time to
time, he never attempted to teach anything beyond iaido while int the dojo. On
the other hand, his actions as a person provided an example for students on a
different level. He provided well for his family, kept commitments to people and
did the best at his job that he knew how.
Now, like a lot of older people, he sometimes gives advice on life issues
(whether we like it or not), but he is often proved right in the end, also
whether we like it or not. But he is speaking from his experience as a person,
not nec. from the perspective of a MA teacher.
Two things: you could be a biology teacher and have the same effect on
students. IMHO a MA teacher who claims to be a "spiritual guide" may not be.
I believe MA has a potential spiritual component, but we can all cite examples,
I think, of less than spiritual people in the arts.
FWIW
Deborah K-B
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On Thu, 28 Mar 2002 15:04:35 +0000 Deborah Klens-Bigman wrote:
> Any really good teacher of anything can set a good life
> example for students. She need not be an MA teacher.
What she said. Instructors should teach the waza directly and the philosophy
indirectly by example. Although I do believe there's a place for instruction of
waza that is not purely physical, even if it's only to point out a direction for
the student. It's helpful to know that there's more to it, so that you at least
have an idea that there is a bridge to cross between what you are doing and what
you should be doing. Trying to teach someone seme is
a good example. Can you directly teach someone seme? I don't think so. OTOH
if all you ever tell them is "step in sharp", you're doing them a disservice.
They need to know that it's possible, and then they need an example to follow
(the instructor). With those two things, they can maybe find their way to it.
Philosophical concepts unrelated to the waza require beer, I think.
Neil
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Last updated on 13 Sep 2002