In addition to the Kohai and Sempai roles in the class, there are also the roles of Tori (person doing a technique) and Uke (person receiving the technique). This relationship is common to martial arts, but carry a very deep significance besides just "attacker" and "defender". In particular importance is the role of Uke. This is not just the guy who is being hit, thrown, locked up, choked, and otherwise abused as part of an overall technique. This role is vital to the successful learning of the Tori and involves a level of training and growth that is equally important.
At the base of being Uke is this concept of Ukemi. Ukemi is the ability to blend or adapt to a situation. On a basic (but not really 'basic') level, Ukemi is the rolling and breakfalls, the techniques of going to the ground safely. It also is the ability to go with the leverage, the pain, the lock, the hit, whatever the Tori is doing, so as to avoid being injured.
I have written previous posts about each of these roles and provided my thoughts regarding them from a student's perspective. The point of this blog post has more to do with these relationships from the perspective of the Sensei, or teacher.
In many martial arts, particularly Koryu (classical martial arts), techniques are preserved in their written (Densho) form, practiced over and over without much variation (or none at all), and passed on from teacher to student. Thus, the structure of the Sensei (teacher) and Deshi (student) is one of transmitting the material "as is". Among the Deshi, the Kohai and Sempai operate as a sort of caste system of ranking. It all follows a very systematic form of passing the traditions, techniques and principles along to newer generations.
In the Bujinkan, however, things might be similar to the class structure I outlined above. But, what makes the Bujinkan what it is has more to do with the relationships, the open learning environment, that we enjoy. Our Soke (grandmaster) encourages us to learn from each other. He doesn't say to only learn from our Sempai or Sensei. He says learn from each other, regardless of rank or status. He encourages people to come to Japan and train with him and the senior Japanese teachers. In many traditional schools, the Soke is often not approachable to people below a certain rank. In fact, sometimes only those senior ranked students are allowed to train with the Soke and junior ranked students train with the senior students.
With our current Soke, he invites people to come to his classes, but encourages people to train with Shidoshi (Bujinkan teachers). He says he is teaching to the upper ranked students (10th degree black belts and above), but everybody gets something from his classes. He just won't teach you how to step, punch, block or any other kind of fundamental skills. What you will get is a big picture, out of the box approach to see our art. You will get a certain 'feeling' of how Soke moves. It's this experience that is used as the backdrop to training, the light at the end of the tunnel. Except this light keeps moving, evolving and we can only try to keep up as best we can. That's why we need each other. That's why the Bujinkan came about to begin with. It's a team effort to try and stay connected to Soke's light.
When someone passes their Godan (5th degree black belt), they have the option to also be a Shidoshi (teacher). Then, they can open their own schools, teach seminars and rank their students. However, many other martial arts stop there. Our Soke requires all those who are Shidoshi to stay connected to him either through direct experience (going to Japan and training) or by training regularly with Sempai or Sensei who do. This is very important, since we are not a school of straight technique transmission. There is so much more to the training that goes beyond the Densho (written techniques). This is the Kuden (spoken teaching). It only comes from direct experience, to catch the vision, the 'feeling', the principles and concepts, that turn techniques from being the product to just being the expression of the art. The "Art" is the human element, which only comes from human to human interaction.
Then, to be able to express that and pass it along to Deshi (students) is a real challenge for a Shidoshi!
I have found that my role as a Shidoshi has fallen into three parts: Teacher, Coach and Leader. As a Teacher, I educate my students on what I know. As a Coach, I encourage and guide my students to develop their skills. As a Leader, I give examples through my own training. I am both Sensei and Deshi. I am also both Sempai and Kohai. And, by example, I try to lead those who look to me for guidance through both my knowledge and my own training. I don't talk the talk, but strive to walk the walk.
And, I accept that my current level of ability and understanding is incomplete, sometimes flawed, sometimes with holes, and sometimes dead on correct. That's why I take being a Shidoshi, a Teacher, Coach, and Leader very seriously. I am also honest. If I don't know something or I'm not correct, I'll be the first to admit it, learn from it, and move on. I've messed up techniques. I've taken my share of hits and laughed at myself over it. It's because I don't take myself too seriously. I do, however, take the effects of what I say and do very seriously, because I know there are those who trust me with their training. I also take the responsibility of my training very seriously. I'm the only one who I don't take seriously!
It's a tough journey as a Deshi. Particularly a Bujinkan Deshi, as the road is not paved, structured, laid out nicely in a package that can be learned easily. It is filled with confusion, misdirection, misinformation, misunderstanding, and many, many points of frustration along the way. And, to be a Bujinkan Shidoshi, a Sensei and Sempai, is even tougher! Yet, we are admonished by our Soke to "Keep Going" (Gambatte). Because I have been training so long, I am finally starting to really see the value in that. I have come to really understand that it is the "Keeping Going" that contains the real lessons of Budo and Life. As a Shidoshi, I can teach someone to strike, grapple, throw, use weapons, and all sorts of other things. However, I cannot teach Gambatte. I can only encourage and show through my own examples. And, if I fall short on that, I am not only going against everything Soke has taught me, everything this art has taught me, but I am also living a lie to myself, my Deshi and my Kohai.
The responsibility is great. But, nobody said this life was easy, nor should it ever be.
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