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Thread: The Social Responsibility of being a Martial Arts Instructor in you Community

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    Default The Social Responsibility of being a Martial Arts Instructor in you Community

    I have been teaching martial arts in my community for 10 years, and believe it to be my responsiblity to make sure that I,

    1. Use good judgment when accepting students

    2. Teach them the strategy and techniques in a context appropriate for their enviorment, taking into consideration certain laws that govern the county/state/country and teaching them to apply them in a way that will be effective, but not put them on the wrong side of the law.

    3. Make them aware of the Morale reprecussions of useing destructive techniques, and to make sure that I do not prematurely empower my students with abilities to severly damage another person so as not to harm the community.

    4. I feel it is also my responsability to not use my class as a Labratory to experiment w/ techniques and strategies on my students. That is stuff that should be done before I began teaching. The students deserve concrete methods based off of my time training with trial and error.

    5. It is also my responsability along with my instructors to make sure that I actually can transmit the knowledge responsibly and properly. I believe to many teach just because the can repeat and explain the kata. Well, just about anybody can do that. I am of the opinion that you actually need to be good at what you do (Technically) as well as have an ability to effectivly transmit the teachings in a way that is responsible to your community and the students.


    I am curios as to what others think of the responsibilities a teacher has to his community. I ask, because I have someone who just came into my community teaching in a highly irresponible way

    Thank you
    Chris Scarbrough

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    Quote Originally Posted by shugenja_09 View Post
    3. Make them aware of the Morale reprecussions of useing destructive techniques, and to make sure that I do not prematurely empower my students with abilities to severly damage another person so as not to harm the community.

    4. I feel it is also my responsability to not use my class as a Labratory to experiment w/ techniques and strategies on my students. That is stuff that should be done before I began teaching. The students deserve concrete methods based off of my time training with trial and error.

    I am curios as to what others think of the responsibilities a teacher has to his community. I ask, because I have someone who just came into my community teaching in a highly irresponible way

    Thank you
    1. What do you mean by an irresponsible way?

    2. I know a teacher who was teaching a bunch of young girls at the time when there was a child kidnap-rapist-murderer in the area. He taught them some things that were dead nasty, really damaging, and would give a 12-year-old a genuine chance of escape from an adult, but with the mediation of their parents, who were really worried for their kids, and helped reinforce the don't-do-this-on-the-playground message. Do you include this sort of thing in mind?
    Trevor Johnson

    Low kicks and low puns a specialty.

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    Hi Trevor, thanks for the reply.


    To answer your questions...
    The individual is teaching some of his students methods of cutting a human body in half with a Katana right from the get go. We have these methods in our art and I believe they should be taught to the students after they have shown that they are responsible students, and have been training for a long time.
    The individual also teaches with a view that nothing is inappropriate and that we shouldn't judge or discern who gets taught what, because "karma" as he puts it will catch up with them. To me this is not right. It exposes the person to extremly violent methods right off the bat and is dangerous.
    In the context of the situation you mentioned with the girls and the rapist, I agree, efficient and devastating techniques should be taught, but cutting someone in half with a katana, come on.... who needs to have that as one of there self defense methods on the 3rd or 4th class. ( And that is just "one" example of the kinda of things I call irresponsible.) I myself study an art that is notorious for "dirty" techniques, but I also use a large amount of discrimination when teaching those things.
    Keep Going
    Chris Scarbrough

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    Neighbors,

    Chris, I would add in your list the concept of role model. I believe that a teacher should be a positive role model to their students both in and out of the dojo. A teacher, no matter what the subject they teach, is a powerful force in a young person's life. Hearing their teacher making sexual comments, advocating racism, being derogatory toward elders can make a lasting impression that can
    harm the student. On the other side, if a teacher treats everyone with respect and courtesy and is humble in their own lives then this makes a huge impact on kids.

    Respectfully,
    Dan
    Dan Keding
    Storyteller - Author - Musician
    Iaidoka MJER

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    Quote Originally Posted by shugenja_09 View Post
    The individual is teaching some of his students methods of cutting a human body in half with a Katana right from the get go. We have these methods in our art and I believe they should be taught to the students after they have shown that they are responsible students, and have been training for a long time.
    All right, I have to say that you've confused me. Any techniques that you teach a student with a katana are lethal (or should be). A person is dead whether you cut them in two or just nick the right artery, and if a sword technique isn't aimed at a lethal or crippling target, then it probably isn't a legitimate sword technique. While I doubt that this guy's beginner students could successfully split a person in two with a katana, that fact that they are being taught to do so doesn't bother me at all. How is that dangerous? Are they carrying katana around with them all the time, looking for fights?

    Now, if he's encouraging his students to carry real swords around in their day-to-day lives, then yes, he's being irresponsible. And is quite likely insane. If he is allowing new students to use shinken instead of bokken or iaito, then that might be a bit questionable-- there are certainly people on this forum who would tell you that he is being irresponsible to do so. I'd have to know more about the situation to give an opinion, personally. And if he is instructing students in "swordsmanship" despite never having studied a legitimate sword art and having no background upon which to build his teachings, then yes, he is being both irresponsible and silly.

    But having said all of that, a perfectly legtimate koryu instructor is going to be teaching lethal sword techniques from day one-- that's the nature of the beast. A perfectly illegitimate mcdojo guy will also be teaching his students lethal techniques from day one-- it's just that his will be lethal because one day, someone is going to mess up when cutting that watermelon. It's happened before. Again, the nature of the beast.
    David Sims

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    My opinion is, in all likelihood, worth exactly what you are paying for it.

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    In the context of the situation you mentioned with the girls and the rapist, I agree, efficient and devastating techniques should be taught, but cutting someone in half with a katana, come on.... who needs to have that as one of there self defense methods on the 3rd or 4th class.
    I feel that I need to address this statement in your post. Anyone that teaches anything involving a katana in a "self defense" context is a complete and utter moron. Sorry to be so blunt, but it is one of those things that frustrates me a bit. The katana is an archaic and outdated weapon! So many "self defense" and "American karate" schools will attempt to teach their students "techniques" with a katana, simply because it looks cool and will bring in a few extra bucks. Katana are extremely dangerous to the wielder, much more so than a firearm. A small mistake with a katana can quickly bleed a person out and, unlike firearms, you can never "unload" a katana and there is no safety! Unless a person has had many years of training under a legitimate instructor, they should not even be "talking" about katana, much less "teaching" it.

    All that ranting aside, if the instructor in question does have sufficient training under a legitimate instructor, then all the techniques that are being taught are going to be pretty darn gruesome. The sword was developed to kill people, and it's been amazingly effective at it for centuries. The very first cut that is taught in our school is kirioroshi, a straight downward cut. I always tell students to think of cutting your opponent in half, straight down the middle. Not that this would be possible mind you, it is the idea that I tell them they should have.
    Last edited by pgsmith; 4th August 2008 at 20:35. Reason: spelling
    Paul Smith
    "Always keep the sharp side and the pointy end between you and your opponent"

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    All techniques taught w/ shinken are deadly, yes. I was merely using that one incident to illustrate the absurdity of this persons judgment. The timing of his teaching bothered me more than the context. Their are no laws concerning the teaching of these methods in the states, for firearms yes, but not for 2-3ft razorblades. Which is why I believe we must exercise great judgment in teaching students these types of things. A technically proficient instructor is not by default equiped with good character assesment or embodied with an ethical outlook. So the potential for technically skilled but irresponsible teachers to injure their students is extremly high. (Certified Koryu or not) I just think that we need to make sure we empower the right people with the right skills. At least I feel that way.
    Chris Scarbrough

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    Quote Originally Posted by shugenja_09 View Post
    All techniques taught w/ shinken are deadly, yes. I was merely using that one incident to illustrate the absurdity of this persons judgment. The timing of his teaching bothered me more than the context. Their are no laws concerning the teaching of these methods in the states, for firearms yes, but not for 2-3ft razorblades. Which is why I believe we must exercise great judgment in teaching students these types of things. A technically proficient instructor is not by default equiped with good character assesment or embodied with an ethical outlook. So the potential for technically skilled but irresponsible teachers to injure their students is extremly high. (Certified Koryu or not) I just think that we need to make sure we empower the right people with the right skills. At least I feel that way.
    I agree with your oppinion. Instructors should empower the right people with the right skills. My wife has read https://www.internetvibes.net/2018/1...mikhail-peleg/ and wants to do some self-defense classes together. But I wonder if martial arts are too dangerous?

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