Brother John said:
It depends on what "Rank" and "Revokable" mean to you.
I think that if you truly earn your rank, you don't need to 'wear' the rank for it to be real. Conversely...if you didn't earn it, but were "given" it anyway...wearing it doesn't make it real either.
There are political squables all the time and so-N-so's rank is "No longer recognized"...w/in certain circles.
The question remains, do you NEED it to be recognized?
Things to think about.
Still: rank shouldn't play nearly the central roll it does in most martial arts circles.
Your Brother
John
Amen Brother,
I think that the misconception that martial arts rank means 'authority' and not 'skill aquisition' is the problem in these issues.
Is a martial arts school a military institution or a skill institutions? Is it a family that "strips" people of their family standing instead of resolving/supporting their Brother/Sister? There seems to be some mixed ideas about what a system/school is or is not suppose to be.
What 'model' of organization/institution is your school/system based on? If you can answer that question clearly for yourself, the issue of 'revoking rank' should be a clear one as well.
Unless a school actually has a 'job description' with duties, responsibilities AS WELL AS skill requirements for each rank AND takes the time to directly instruct those skills like they do kicking and punching and forms, there is no real 'authority' in the use of "rank" only a recognition of skill and ability.
OJ Simpson is accused/cleared of murder. There were discussions in Buffalo about taking his name off of the Stadium because of that. WHy? One has nothing to do with the other IMO. His athletic performance is legendary and can not be 'stripped' because of something he did off the field.
What can be done is that the institution 'denounces' or 'expresses their criticism/disappointement' and, at the same time, no longer refers to OJ as a great 'hero' of football, but only a great 'athletic example' on the field.
Heck, I am by no means a fan of Hitler as a human being BUT I can respect his public speaking ability, his affectiveness as a leader (at least early on) based on his successes (though NOT by his methods). I am not for pidgeon holing people into categories (happens too much in education IMO) BUT I do think that some objective, rationale consideration and separation needs to be applied when looking at these revokation of rank/stripping of titles situations.
Can you 'strip' your father/son of his role in your life? No, but you can either separate them or yourself from the relationship. There is a difference between "I have no father/son" and "We don't talk anymore."
One denies the impact of the interaction (and ignores ANY positive impacts that may have happend because you are rejecting the whole person) and the second focuses on the status of the relationship.