Questioning a master, what would you ask?

[RyuShiKan]

Originally posted by chufeng
Oyata Sensei was approachable, but you had to be willing to suffer the pain of an "explanation." He liked to SHOW you what he meant...not a lot of talking.

There are a couple of reasons for this.
One is that it is sometimes difficult for Mr. Oyata to explain in English.........hell it's hard for me to explain them in English too!
Two, language doesn’t explain things well enough……….feeling is believing.

Originally posted by chufeng
In fact, when he caught me watching him and my teacher working on something other than what I was supposed to be working on, he said, "What are you looking at...get back to work." He was very direct, but also easy to ask questions of.

In our dojo principles one of the precepts is “ask questions freely to your instructors or superiors”.
Questions are encouraged.

 

[tshadowchaser]

my wife (who is not a student of anyone) once asked a Grandmaster in a Chinese family art who the title of head of family would go to seeing s he had no sons and the title had always been passed down to the eldest son or grandson.
It made him think for a while.
She once approched another Master (when I was in TKD) and pointed to me saying "how can he become better and what is he doing wrong" you see she talked to them like she would anyone else and they gave her good advice. OH, the answere to this one was "find a better instructor". I did

 

[TKDman]

What is the meaning of life?

lol!

 

[tonbo]

She once approched another Master (when I was in TKD) and pointed to me saying "how can he become better and what is he doing wrong" you see she talked to them like she would anyone else and they gave her good advice. OH, the answere to this one was "find a better instructor". I did

ROFL!!

Now THAT is the sign of a true master!!!

I can't say as how I've trained with any real "masters", since they all seem to avoid that title as if it were infected. Most of the upper belts/dans that I have trained with (some very high level, some better known than others) seem to have a very "regular guy" attitude, and training has been kind of a give-and-take thing.

When I was in iaido, and our instructor's instructor came to visit, we got a small token gift for him as a way of saying "Thanks for coming out". He had come out west from Chicago, simply because our instructor had asked; our token of thanks was a nice Japanese tea bowl/cup. He loved it. It was simple, inexpensive, and unpretensious.

I think that, if anything, I would ask a "master" simple, simple questions: "What advice would you give me?" "Am I doing this stance right?", and so on.

Yes, they deserve respect. So does everyone else. Start out by giving respect, and pull it back in increments from those people that demonstrate that they don't deserve it. Grovel? No. Fawn over? No. But definitely make the person, master or not, feel welcome.

As the saying goes: "Every man is my teacher; every man is my student". Pay close enough attention, and everyone can teach you *something*. In its own little way, doesn't that almost make most people you train with a "master"?

Oh, yeah.....and I would personally run from anyone that bills themselves as "Master". That sounds more like a masterful ego than anything else. Most of the "masters" that I have met have all introduced themselves by first name, no title, no pomposity. That, in my opinion, is really the mark of someone with class.

Just my opinion......your mileage may differ.

Peace--

 

[moromoro]

there seems to be a thin line between GROVELING and respecting in this thread


:asian: :asian: :asian: :asian: :asian: :asian:

 

[Cruentus]

What are you looking at Biaach!

Wanna Fight!

:boxing:

Uh.....guess thats not really a question. It's a good thing I don't do that to my "master," or I'd be picking up my teeth every week.

Questions for an interview...

I would ask them to tell me stories about the "old days" of training, and (possibly) real life encounters of deuls and fights.

I train with manong Ted Buot in Balintawak, and he loves to tell stories. And....I love to hear em'!

 

[moromoro]

I train with manong Ted Buot in Balintawak, and he loves to tell stories. And....I love to hear em'!

could you tel us of one such story???? fighting of course

 

[tonbo]

there seems to be a thin line between GROVELING and respecting in this thread

Yeah, it's a pretty thin line, in some cases.

Here's my unsolicited 2 cents' worth:

I think that anyone who has been around long enough to be considered a "master" in the martial arts has earned a good deal of respect. The time and effort that they have put into the martial arts should be recognized. However, I wouldn't treat them as superhuman, or godlike, or worthy of falling down on my knees in front of.

For the record, yes, I *do* treat guests at our school with the same level of respect. The other day, a lady showed up at our school for a meeting with our head instructor. He had been caught in traffic, and was going to be a little late. I offered her use of the office while she waited, and offered her a drink. She politely refused both; however, the offer was made. I would do the same for any visiting "master", any visiting instructor, or any visitor who was spending any length of time at the studio.

Is that groveling? I don't think so. I would say it is treating the dojo like my home, and making sure that guests are made to feel welcome. If they feel welcome, the chances are better that they will be back.

Once again: yes, masters have earned respect from me, regardless of style or age (we're talking legit masters, not 2-year-study-fakers). Then again, so have most regular guys who come to visit the dojo. I start out with respect for people, and, if they don't deserve as much as I initially give them, well.....they'll show it.

Groveling before a fake or unworthy "master" is like tossing a match into a gas tanker. You're only going to feed the flame. I believe that true "masters" are going to make it clear that they are uncomfortable with special treatment--the ones that I have met just want to be one of the guys; they are learning, too, as they teach. And yeah, it's a privilege to be the "dummy" when they demonstrate....

Peace--

 

[Cruentus]

Originally posted by moromoro
could you tel us of one such story???? fighting of course

Definatily, but probably not til tomorrow. It'll take a lot of writing to get down the full effect.

Besides, me telling the story won't do it justice; It is much better to hear it from the old man. However, I'll try my best!

 

[Rich Parsons]

Originally posted by moromoro
could you tel us of one such story???? fighting of course

There are a couple, and I will see what Paul writes and then decied what to post after him

 

[moromoro]

great stuff Paul and Rich cant wait to here some of the old stories.

 

[KenpoTess]

Originally posted by Rich Parsons
There are a couple, and I will see what Paul writes and then decied what to post after him

Do tell

 

[Cruentus]

Originally posted by KenpoTess
Do tell

Actually I already did! In the first and second issue of MT magazine, I interviewed Manong Ted. I missed Sept., but I have Part III for Oct., and the conclusion part IV for November.

An awsome read. Not cause I wrote it; who cares about that. It was because of "who" I was interviewing. He's a real deal eskrimador; one of the few "old school" masters that we have left in Filipino Martial Arts. It is awesome hearing him tell stories from his unique perspective.

I recommend picking up a subscription to MT magazine; if not just for the interview, for the other articles as well. It is really inexpensive, especially considering the content of the magazine. I know that Kiath often has to scramble to get people (me included) to get there @$$es in gear to submit articles, but the end result so far has been great!

So for my stories and interview questions, check out MT mag! :asian: