Karate Do in Mainstream Education Continued

I would like to continue the thread from my previous post and look more deeply at the dynamics of the classroom, home, and the dojo. I think that the Karate Do Sensei holds a special place in our hearts and minds due to their very specific skill sets and life experiences but, why don't we feel the same way about our teachers in school? They also have interesting life experiences and possess specific skills sets depending on the grade level and subject that they teach.

In Japan the school teachers, especially in the early stages of education, kindergarten and elementary school levels, play a very significant role in childrens' emotional development. This is a role that, in my experience in Canada, is reserved for the family. Let me give you an example that will show how the lines of family responsibility and the responsibilities of the 'homeroom teacher' in Japan can be blurred or even crossed at times:

If a child were, for whatever reason, to run away from home or not come home one night, who would shoulder the burden or assume the responsibility of searching for them? In Canada, I can say with confidence that it would be the parents. However, I have witnessed numerous times while living here, the homeroom teacher assuming this responsibility. The parents appeared to almost not even get involved.

Courtesy in the Karate Do Context

The ongoing theme of manners and respect are and will continue to be prevalent throughout this blog as good manners are of the utmost importance in Japanese martial arts. Ginchin Funakoshi Sensei (founder of 松濤館Shoto-kan Karate Do) stated that, “Karate Do begins and ends with courtesy.” This statement is very profound and in fact courtesy can be found in every aspect of most traditional styles of Karate Do. From the way one enters and leaves the 道場 Dojo, Training Hall, to the way a 空手家 Karate Ka, Practitioner of Karate Do conducts themselves in the course of their daily life, ‘Courtesy’ can be found in every breath and every action of intent. 

 

It is believed by many that acting in such a way brings honour to the individual. However, during my time in Japan, it seems to me that people don’t perform this kind of genuine courtesy in order to bring honour to themselves, but rather because it is natural for them to act in that specific manner in the given situation. This may bring honour to their community, Dojo, and their Snesei but, make no mistake, their courteous actions are not, in any way, performed to draw attention to themselves.

 

Furthermore, In my experience, showing proper manners through specific etiquette is a requirement for effective communication in Japan. So much so in fact, that different speech patterns were developed in the language to demonstrate this in everyday dealings with each other (see previous blog on Keigo). This concept of courtesy in daily life is known as 礼儀作法 Reigi Sahou, The Application of Courtesy. More accurately, the first two kanji mean Courtesy and the last two kanji mean Manners or Etiquette. When placed together they mean the practice of 'good' manners through courteous actions. In his book, ‘Bushido the Soul of Japan; An Exposition of Japanese Thought’ (1909) Nitobe Inazo discusses the many aspects of Japanese courtesy in the Budo context. It is a bit of a difficult read but I highly recommend it to any serious Karate Ka. In fact, over half of the book is dedicated to things such as Politeness, Sincerity, Honour and Self-control all of which are connected to Courtesy. Through out the text which is a collection of letters and essays Nitobe compares Eastern and Western philosophies on these subjects and reflects on them in detail.

Approaching Respect, Honorifics, Titles, and Rank in Karate Do (Part 2)

Keigo in the Karate Do Context

I have found in my personal experience that no matter how highly you are ranked, you should always treat those around and especially those senior to you in age with the utmost respect. More often than not, this is expressed in many ways that not verbal. These subtleties can often either go unnoticed or can be misinterpreted if we don’t have the basic cultural understanding that I discussed in my previous posts. As with anything, there are always exceptions to this rule and showing one’s respect for and or toward another is no different. However, a good rule of thumb would be to remember that age seniority trumps all other ranks in almost every case.
 

The Image (Sensei and Professor)
Let’s take a common example and put it into a Karate Do context: A university/college student would address his/her professor(s) in a respectful way whether that respect is has been earned or not. They may call them "Sir." or "Dr.~" as a sign of this respect. However, the professor wouldn't have to be as formally polite when talking to the student (Rozek, 2010).

This is a pretty straight forward and easy to understand example but, I have a question for you. As you read that example what kind of mental picture did you create? Did you get a mental picture of the University Professor? What about the student? What is the common image of the ‘Professor’? Did you picture an older man, possibly with a beard or a moustache, wearing a tweed jacket? How about the typical image of a university/collage student? Was the student you pictured younger than the Professor? If we ask enough people this question we will be able to judge the common answer but, it may be assumed that the common image of the Professor is older than the student(s), would you agree? Assuming this to be the norm we can begin relating this example to Karate Do.