| When The Sensei is Away In some dojo, like the Oyama Dojo in New York City, there are many instructors who teach on a regular basis. The head instructor, Grand Master Shigeru Oyama, teaches occasionally and when he does it is a treat. Most of the time the teacher will be a first, second, or third degree black belt, you rarely know ahead of time which teacher you will have. In such a dojo it is easy for the head instructor to be away since the students are accustomed to many different teachers. In smaller dojo there is usually just one main instructor although there are always advanced students who serve as assistants. In such a case it is more difficult when the instructor is away. Now even the most dedicated and devoted instructor will be away on occasion, it is humanly impossible to be there all the time. Things come up in life that must be dealt with right away. Sometimes there are important family obligations that must be attended to, other times there are business or financial matters that must be handled at once. And then, the instructor is entitled to a vacation, or as in my case, a trip abroad to train with top martial artists and bring back to our dojo valuable information and equipment not available here. Now the question is -what happens at the dojo while the sensei is away, does it fall apart or does it thrive? There are some students who will find it confusing to come to the dojo and find another teacher, even one whom they already know. There are some students who will say "I only train with the Master, the top instructor, I will not train with an assistant of a lower rank, it will be boring if the Sensei is away." So they do not show up. This shows their true colors; they do not really care about the dojo, they are selfish and think only of themselves and what is good for them - in the short run. For in the long run it is to their advantage to keep the dojo strong, otherwise the dojo will fall apart and they will have no where to train. I have trained with Sensei Itay for many years. There have been good times, there have been bad times. I have always considered it to be in my best interest to attend and support the dojo any way I could. There are many times when after traveling all the way to Jerusalem I found that he was not there and I had to teach. Instead of being angry I was glad that I was there so that the students would have a good lesson and would continue to attend. Keeping the dojo alive is to my benefit because I want to have somewhere to train. When Sensei Itay traveled to Australia for three and a half months, I, together with two other students ran the dojo (no pay). We did it out of a sense of loyalty to the dojo. Bottom line: It is to your benefit to help keep the dojo strong. If you are a loyal student you will attend even when the teacher is away, for a day or for a month. If you do not attend you are showing your true colors, and they are not bright. As the rabbis say "Where there is no man - Be a man". Stand up and take charge, shine brightly. |