True Standards in Teaching Karate

I have been around the block for a LONG time now, been training with my instructor for nearly 30 years of my 34 year journey in Karate and I have seen some real great instructors on the floor….and I have seem some guys that were just a hot mess! I have trained under some of the very best that Manitoba, Canada and even the world have had to offer and I have trained under some very questionable instructors! Granted almost all of them were “approved” to teach one way or the other but I take away from that the fact that everyone is different and we have to select who’s banner we choose to stand under in our journey in Karate.

Steve Burch came back from the last JKA Koyo Camp and introduced an idea that came from the marketing meeting they had, but it fell into me as being more of a new standard for teaching in Karate. It had more to do with the presentation of yourself as a person over your presentation of Kicky-Punchy things. The idea was brought up by a gentleman I respect a great deal as a marketing guy, and I don’t think he even realized the ramifications it had for instructors. Brad Jones stated that “we have to respect our students, and their families and show it to them”. Now he was talking about marketing but it, as usual, got my brain spinning. It was such a simple concept, and one I personally try and approve…but even I have to say that I was at one point being swayed by the darker side of Karate and starting to feel the pull of “ME SENSEI! YOU STUDENT!” in my head…even if I knew it was wrong.

I was very lucky in my journey into Karate. My first instructor was no gem! He drank before class, smoked after and that is when he showed up to preach about living a good life and being healthy because your body was “a temple”…..I trained with him and his son for a year and a half before I left to do Judo. The one thing I originally took from that was the pathetic fact that some guy was teaching a class on Karate, he was qualified to do that…but then he started talking about health…and the fact was some people are “do what I say, not what I do” People and it drove me nuts….and out of his Dojo!

My very first lesson on Karate standards for teachers was that you must not preach things that you do not already do. I don’t smoke….I tell people not to smoke because of the health risks associated with it, but I don’t preach about the ease of stopping smoking or even how to do it…because I never have had the misfortune of having to stop that habit so How in the world can I tell someone its easy or even direct them on how to do it, I however do let them know it’s a great idea to chat with their doctor about it…who should be a expert!

I moved to Dingman Senseis Dojo and began learning Karate from a real Sensei! Someone I can look up to and someone that has never really been a “Do as I say” Kind of guy. He used to smoke and quit, he now tells people its not good for them , but in such a way as it is respectful and from his heart. He is flawed but he does not bring those flaws to the Dojo and he also does not let them effect his students. He also puts his students above his own needs as a rule and he bends over backwards for them knowing that the good he is doing for them is going to build better people and a better world.

But he is a unique instructor with a unique set of personal principles, ones I try to mirror in my life. He is a great role model and someone I consider a second father and I think I always have. He is above most of the greif that is caused by those instructors that are self-important, egotists that think because they have a black belt strapped around their Hara and they were “here first” that it entitles them to something that it does not. He taught me that the longer you are in Karate the more battles you will have. Not physically, but often ethically and morally. I see instructors who have pathetically bad business practices that boarder on fraud and I have to not say anything, knowing that it will catch up with them. I see instructors sexually harass and goad students in to less than professional situations and I shake my head knowing the final outcome of something like that will be personally destructive and will end the Dojo they run…and Ruin so many lives.

When you run a Dojo the standards should all be above board. Money comes in the proper channels and goes to pay the rent/mortgage, bills and the requirements of the club. Then you pay yourself, Then you put savings aside if you have any at that point. No one is against an instructor making a buck, hell its expected! But I have seen instructors who were well loved go to jail for tax fraud (in the states) and I have seen instructors so money hungry that it splits the organizations apart! Money is great, we all need it…but is it better to make $500 a month on a Karate club and make it for an indefinite amount of time, foster good relationships with students…or screw them out of money and fight for 5 years making only $1000 a month? Or even $5000 a month but for 5 years? The point is that money collection and the amount you charge should be above board and your services should be worth it! You cant stop working and sit back and collect money forever! You have to build relationships and push to be the best person and instructor you can be.

Dingman Sensei once told me he may not have a million bucks in the bank….but as long as he has loyal students who love and respect him ….he is the richest man alive! And I believe him, because every time he is out on the dojo floor his eyes light up, he forgets any physical pain he is in and he loves teaching. The interactions he has with his students is something to watch and learn from. He loves teaching everyone, from the white belt that just walked in the door to the black belts who have been busting their rumps to improve and be stronger. The relationship is symbiotic. The more they train to please him, the harder he works to help them. It’s a beautiful thing!

The other thing that I know about Sensei Dingman and some of the other greats are they are Honest…sometimes to a fault! Dingman Sensei had to tell me three times I did not pass my Black belt. I hit someone twice and the third time I simply was going through the motions. He could have told me I failed by posting others names and just letting me read it, but he cared enough to let me know I failed and had to work on control, and the last time not give up hope of ever getting a black belt. The standards were so high then that I was not sure if I could ever pass. He was honest with me, sat me down and let me know what I needed to do and that I should not give up…for me! Not because I was part of his monthly paycheck at the time, but because he really wanted to see me succeed. He knew me and knew how hard it was for me to fail again and again, but he first told me in the office, then took me to his home and chatted with me for hours about things I needed to work on and how I should focus and push to be better. I did what he said, redoubled my efforts and not once did I think of giving up.

Years later I partnered with him on my business. He asked if I would open my massage business in the Dojo and help his students with the aches and pains of Karate training. I agreed and became a sort of business partner. I naturally rolled into working more and more in his office and saw the day to day business that he had running and I can truly say that while Sensei Dingman is one of the most honest people I know…he honestly is a bad business man! Not because he was ripping people off…the opposite! I saw people take advantage of him and break Dojo Rules, like not paying on time…skipping paying months and showing up for Seminars with out having paid! I caught this almost every time, and so did the office staff, but Dingman Sensei simply said “I know, times are tight…let it go this time”. And he would let the person train for a month free without worry of paying for classes. He is without a doubt all about the students and improving their lives!

Some of the more self-important instructors I have trained with did things a tad bit different. First off most of them were a “First of the month or out” kind of people and I have actually seen instructors make people sit on the side and watch class because they did not get paid until the second week of the month, and every month the kids would watch for a whole week while mom and dad were waiting for a paycheck! Or the instructors who make deal like “pay for six months and I will knock $20 off and pay your Org fees for the year” after having bumped up the 6 month payment amount to already cover this amount. Its pathetic to offer something that you are seriously not offering. Or taking money from people and not declaring it with the club. When you talk about business practices one must be honest and also conduct themselves as a business.

Karate instructors don’t always make the best business people. I have always thought that they should have office managers and people that run the club. Not just collect fees but run the club. The instructor shows up and teaches and focuses on being the best instructor they can be while the office manager makes things work, markets and basically does the office work. I have seen to many instructors start to make bad and even dishonest business decisions based on self-importance, misdirected feelings of entitlement and the practices are less than above board or honest…and most of the times it has harmed or torn the Dojo apart completely.

Another act of unacceptable behavior that I have been told about is unwarranted violence against students or their family members. Now Karate is a very physical art and often adrenaline Junkies become involved in the Dojo, they get out of control and you have to step in and calm them down. Also some people just have that “See Red” kind of moments when they lose their cool or sometimes people miscommunicate when they spar and things get out of hand. As an instructor you need to be above that and humble, but if you see it in your students you need to nip it in the bud and stop the behavior from happening. Its important to have an friendly atmosphere with serious training but controlled and safe! I have seen instructors who insight almost riot like atmospheres in their Dojos and they push people and insight a almost frenzy in their kumite classes. They totally miss the point in almost all regards about Kumite…its controlled aggression and keeping calm under the worst situations while using the emotion of violence to their advantage….a bunch of morons beating on each other is who we are training to defend ourselves from…not who we are trying to become. Instructors need to avoid this kind of issue and work with those that have issues, not create new ones.

Other violent acts I have been witness to and also been told about include instructors hurting their own students or family members of the students thinking its funny or after losing their cool with the students or family. One instructor thought it was funny to kick people in the groin and then laugh when they didn’t “see it coming”. Well my answer to that kind of childish behavior is to do it right back with the instructor. What is good for the goose and all that! And as for violence towards students, not acceptable! Hell, its not acceptable in general in our society, why would assaulting your students or their family be acceptable in any way shape or form. Just should not happen! Not only is it grounds for an instructor to be turfed but its also a great way to end up in jail or court!

I am a big believer in social gatherings with instructors and the students. It’s a great way to get to know students and to have a good time away from the hard work and toils of the club work outs. It allows us to get to know our students from an outside perspective, but over socialization can lead to pit falls of their own. We all have flaws but booze and personality flaws do not go well together. I know of several instances that socialization has caused way to much stress and issues in an organization. Keep your cool and socialize to be nice, not for other reasons. I know of one instructor who had a “open” relationship with his wife. Something NO ONE Needed to know about in his club and something that is personal to them…unless you announce it at a function at your home when everyone is pretty much encouraged to be as drunk as they could be. Problem was…in the end, his wife that was not present…did not realize they had made that change to their relationship! Ended the calm feeling when you go into a club when you ralise your instructor was hitting on your girlfriend and actually got to experience the open ended relationship status while his wife, upon finding out, made that a more permanent thing!

Over socialization does not have to be as excessive as including inter-marital relations that ruin relationships! It can be as simple as an instructor getting to drunk at a party and looking like an idiot or getting into an argument with someone when they are out of control. These kinds of silly slips (having a bit to much fun) Can lead to issues that destroy organizations and clubs alike! Its important for instructors to realize that they are put on a bit of a pedestal and people say “now they will show us how to behave”! Good or bad that’s the truth. One mans having fun is another man’s sloppy drunken mess! Far be it from me to preach to drinkers that you cant have a beer once and again, but if you know you have an issue with drinking….being to fun loving or even violent…perhaps you should leave that kind of fun for personal time and not dojo events.

One thing that instructors need to realize is that the student body is a group of consumers! They are the clientele of an organization or Dojo and they are buying our products…they are not employees or slave labor to be barked at and pushed around. They pay us money to teach them an art and tradition, they provide us a paycheck or loyalty in exchange for our best! If you treat your students as if they are not what they truly are, then you run the risk of losing focus on what your job is. Its not to show up and turn in a half- hearted class and collect funds to further your wallets expansion program, it’s to teach with passion and respect!

Teaching can not be all about power, money and ego…and if it is you are in the wrong business! I have seen men that thought they were powerful and wanted even more power fall by the wayside because they lose focus on what the truth of being an instructor is! High standards and supporting your students with pride and passion in your art as well as providing a true service equally to everyone in your club, not just those that peek your sexual interest or those that you think you can use to get more trophies! Many instructors have mixed up feelings and a ill formed understanding of the relationship that an instructor has with his student body. They feel they can crap on them continuously and the student will “Have to take it”. They have options and they will exercise their options if you don’t give them a reason to stay! A reason other than “but I am real good at the kicky punchy stuff and have a kind of charisma that is infectious.” Trust me..that does not work! Any situations that you don’t handle professionally and properly with the correct standards will cause someone to walk out the door!

One of the biggest Taboo’s that I have seen and something that Steve Burch brought back with him from Ottawa was “Treat students and their family with RESPECT”. I remember the first time my Mother met Sensei Dingman. She sized him up good! My family is a very traditional kind of middle class family that wants to raise its own kids according to a specific moral code! She did not like my first instructor on instinct and Momma bear was very critical of this Kratty stuff her little boy wanted to do. She met Dingman sensei at a tournament about a year after I was training and she told me that he put her at ease right away by talking about me…and not himself! He did not try and sell her on his club, he simply told her how I was doing…which was crazy because at the time he was not teaching the kids class but quoted things that Sensei Tammy and Brian would have known being the instructors of the kids class.

Dingman Sensei always referred to my mom by her last name when talking to her and never talked down to her. He also treated my Brother and his kids the same way, so from a personal point of view he was always a perfect representative of what an instructor should be…personal, professional, passionate and proper when dealing with family or students. Even now that I see myself as more of a friend to the family and I see Sensei as a second father, he still makes sure that he is always personally proper and only lets down this guard on special occasions.

I have seen, however, some instructors that treat their students like slaves, dismissive towards the family members and actually mistreat family members or insist that they are to be called Sensei by the family members. I would NEVER ask a student to get their mother to call me “Sensei” or even “Sempai”….I am not their Sensei or Sempai and its silly. I recently visited one of Steve’s students at a pavilion for folklarama and insisted his mother call me James as I was introduced as “Sensei James” and did not feel comfortable having her call me by a Shogo that did not apply to her. I do however remember a time when I was out with a particular instructor and he was introduced by his first name to a student’s friend. He quickly corrected the student to call him “sensei” and use his name only after that Shogo was inserted. It kind of makes my skin crawl when instructors are pushy and force people to use outward signs of respect like use of Shogo when they have no relationship with the student. It’s the same reason I don’t call Chiropractors, Dentists or Doctors by their “Dr.” Title if they are not my doctors. I have no relationship with them and don’t intend on bowing and scraping to some self-important Git that wants to feel…well more important than they are to me!

A instructor and senior in a club must show equal amounts of respect to students as they do family members. Its sad when you consider that Dingman Sensei goes out of his way to remember tid bits about students lives and tries to know their names or at least their faces for every student that he trains with…while other instructors view students as a paycheck alone! I have had instructors like Terry Proctor offer to give me lifts out to camps and tournaments, I remember years ago getting rides home from seniors like Walter Crawford and others and I have also gotten rides from Rod Tymchuck (sorry for the misspelling) who did not think about throwing me in the car and zipping out to events. I have also seen instructors refuse to allow different students in their car because they simply did not think it was their job to carry the student around…..like to the camp they were paid to teach at! Really? I have also witnessed instructors bow out of respect to grand parents of students and treat them very well, while others can’t even figure out their students are not replaceable cattle that are just there to make them money!

Dirty looks and indifference to students and family members are just as bad as outright disrespect to students and family members. They come here to learn and they show respect to anyone that has something to offer them, they deserve the same in return. Also its very important to stress this…Students learn from our actions. Like a child that is beaten will probably beat their own child or a child that sees their parents as they fall down drunk have a higher risk of drinking their fears and sorrow away….students see arrogant instructors disrespecting them and dismissing them as unimportant Cattle or Sheep and they too will start to treat their students like this. Unless we break the cycle and train as consumers and teach as true instructors should, this self-important crap will bury most clubs and more than one organization.

As a senior or instructor it behooves us to create the right atmosphere in a club for students to train stress free in a professional environment that promotes learning. You can teach Kata and you can teach Kumite and basics and fundamentals and conditioning and the rest…but if the environment is not professional and proper for learning you will lose students right left and center. The other factor that we tend to forget is that a Dojo is a business as much as it is a place to train in traditional aspects of Karate. It’s a unique set up that people come to in order to learn Karate and distress! If we don’t create a stress free experience for people that are seeking that they will travel up the road and train with someone else. Someone better suited to just teaching and leaving the politics and stress out of it.

The atmosphere is almost as important, if not more so, than the teaching quality of the instructor. I have been to great clubs with qualified instructors and felt uncomfortable being their and it ruined my experience totally, I would never go back! We have also hosted different instructors who made the very dojo I trained in day in and day out feel uncomfortable for me to be in by behaving poorly and basically creating a temporary feeling of discontent in the club. And its catchy! One person that is out of sorts in a group can pull down the training of others. Its very hard to keep positive when one negative person brings in that kind of “energy” to training. The best thing for an instructor to do is to push the positive atmosphere and help others be as positive as possible while teaching, before class and after class. That’s why Dingman Sensei’s smile and Irish Eyes create such a positive training environment.

At the very least instructors must strive to get along with others in the club, I mean its your club and you want people to come to the club…why act like an arse when they get their? Never mind that you are a business person that should know better, you represent more than your own name! You represent your instructor and even any masters you train under. You represent the organization that you are a part of and any instructors and students who train within that group…so when you invite people into your dojo you need to act as a gracious host and also as a humble instructor who is glad to see the students, any students, show up and learn from you. You should not treat them as useless or call them names, you cannot bring personal drama into the club or its business and all the professional business that you are involved in MUST be on the up and up!

Not everyone is going to want the same things you want in life, and not everyone wants to be the kind of Karate person you want them to be. This is a hard lesson that instructors must learn as much as the one about respect. Some teachers will refuse to teach specific kinds of students, like kids or older adults, those that are not fit or those that are not interested in a specific aspect of Karate. I have also been told by one instructor that he wont teach women Karate because they “don’t get it”…wonder if I should introduce them to Sensei Tammy? I have been told by some instructors that they wont teach specific students based on Sex, weight, age, race, ability, religion and even based on economic status. I kid you not! I have had people say they don’t teach ladies…fine that’s money out of your pocket and by the way…they do get it! I have had people say they don’t teach kids…fine by me, I do and they will learn and stick around to be adults and grow my instructors clubs. They don’t teach heavy people…who need the fitness levels increased…fine, I like to help and we could all lose a bit here and their! They don’t teach older people, they don’t teach people with any kind of disability and they don’t teach…and this one got me right mad….people of particular religious back grounds. In the last case it was an American saying he would not teach Muslims Karate….I am not going into religion here…but REALLY??

If you are a Karate instructor and you want to teach more than just in your garage you need to be more open minded and remember that as long as students train hard and focus on the right points they all deserve to be taught and unless they disrupt the class and add to a poor atmosphere you cannot close your doors to them. Or at least you shouldn’t. First off most instructors would give an arm to have a large Dojo with lots of happy students, but if that is not your goal then why teach? And for the record, I would never close a door to a student that wants to learn. We have even tried to work with students who had disabilities that greatly affected them mentally and physically and when we could make it work it was MAGIC! For the students and great for our feeling of accomplishment as a team! Good Karate teachers can and will teach anyone any time and any place as long as the student wants to learn!

Having said that not all students have the same goals! They don’t all want to be the next Tanaka Sensei or the next great tournament champion! Hell some don’t even want to compete! But they have just as much right to be their and learn good Karate and Karate traditions in a comfortable and respectable atmosphere as anyone else. So, what should an instructor do with an older guy that does not want to compete and could care less about his reaching a high level….teach them what they want to be taught…Karate. Karate is a flexible art and can and should be molded to fit each person’s needs and wants.

Dingman Sensei has a knack for teaching each person as if they are the most important person in the room. He has mastered the art of eye contact when teaching in such a way as he lets you know you are doing good and you are working hard, or you need to push a bit harder and do a bit more. I have not! He has also mastered the art of tailoring his teaching to the group and even the individual he is teaching. Its amazing to watch and learn from him. Some instructors hang out at the senior level and leave the juniors for a higher level student. I also see some instructors teach to a group of people, like the “Team” of a dojo and the rest are just kind of present to create a situation that the team can be taught. Its kind of sad. I have also seen instructors dismiss other students in favor of training with athletes in their club, again….all students deserve equal time.

Instructors need to create a training program that fits all students and all needs, or is flexible enough that the club builds up all students equally and does not favor one kind of student alone. Have trained with Yaguchi Sensei in a FULL class of people, some are world class athletes like foot ball players and hockey players that were so high end even in Karate that they were miles ahead of the mom and dad training in the same line as them…but Yaguchi challenged all of them in a proper way to ensure that he did not lose anyone’s interest. It was really inspiring and truly fantastic to train under people like him.

Not every instructor is going to be a Tanaka with a wall full of medals and even at an advanced age he is still something to behold. The story of Shoji Sensei comes to mind when I think of “common looking” instructors and what they are capable of. Shoji was a average looking person, not to tall, kind of stalky and not exactly someone you would look at and say “now that guy was/is an athlete of the highest caliber. He had sad eyes and was very introverted out of the Dojo. But I have read stories of his teaching and it so reminds me of Dingman Sensei with his flamboyant and driving energy that pushes you to work harder even when you don’t have the energy. Shoji was known to have students that would give their right arms for him and were so loyal and caring that the funeral was packed to the roof when he passed away with students from all walks of life and all ages that came to give their respects for a man that touched hundreds, dealt with them with respect and yet drove them harder than any instructor they had ever known…and they performed because he expected it and pushed them to be their best. Shoji never got the notoriety of other instructors, in fact in North America he is not very well known, but in the old JKA and before Nakayama passed he was a force! He showed all his students the right path for Karate and did so as a wise uncle or father would with respect and care for each student. He developed lots of students who went on to do great things in Karate and while in his youth he was a fantastic Karate athlete he once said that “Karate is not for the athletes, they just benefit from it in different ways, its for the common man!”

The biggest issue that Karate has right now is the self-important instructors who command respect and don’t give any, those that will destroy the organizations and build their own to suit themselves, all the while burning students and causing them to leave never to return. As was suggested at Koyo Camp this year, Karate needs a new standard for instructors to live up to, and its not all about techniques and knowledge…but mostly about behavior and a new way of addressing student issues and pushing themselves to accept responsibility for the business end of things while also realizing it is a bit of a business….with unique needs and requirements. Basically we need to hold ourselves to a higher standard of interpersonal communication with our students, our seniors, our peers and ourselves.

Karate should be for everyone and not for the elite or close minded, and instructors should realize that we pay their wages…..and we cannot be forced to respect them! If this continues they need to accept their part in students leaving and finding instructors like Dingman Sensei who does respect students and who love Karate as much as they do their students! Its all about finding a higher standard and knowing what to accept!