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Dec 19, 2010
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A way to learn what we did wrong
by: Hiro Imafuji

This is my reply to a post, beaten after asking a question?.

Again thank you for your comment. And I am sorry if I delivered my message in a wrong way.

I also disagree with any violence; especially, just beating up people for the purpose of emotionally hurting others under the name of training.

I do not about laws much but as a common sense, what this sensei did was wrong. And it is not a good practice of kendo.

This was an extreme case i.e. it seems like a mere violence.

What I am going to write here is my personal opinion and not all the kendo instructors'.

Many people just accuse others without thinking about what they did wrong first. I think there are a cause and then a consequence.

Like your response to my comment. There was a cause (my answer to Yan's question) and a response (you wrote your post). And I am responding to your
comment because you posted your comment here.

What I'm trying to say here is we must think about a reason why others give a negative reaction/feedback to us to improve ourselves.

Now, this applies the other way around. When we get mad, we should think about why too.

Is it because we misunderstand a message delivered by his/her facial expression? Do I send the right message in a right way so the person I am talking
to get my message without misunderstanding me?

So I always think carefully what I did before drawing a conclusion.

I particularly did want Yan, who posted the question, to learn this process of thinking. I did not want him (assuming Yan is a male, if not please
forgive me) to conclude that kendo teachers were all like that and he did not do anything wrong.

Again, violence is bad. Here I wanted Yan to think WHY the teacher reacted that way to Yan.

That is the most important part for Yan to learn. Again violence is bad. So let's say Yan was suspended without being told why.

No one learns anything without being told. But it is also important to THINK why. We must think humbly over and over why we got the response. And go
and ask our teacher for an answer. This way, we can really learn what our teachers are trying to teach us.

Many people do not think much nowadays.

I could draw a conclusion if my students did not learn the way I would teach. I could say, "coz they don't listen to me/they do not really respect me"
and so forth.

Another example. If my daughter wouldn't do what I asked her to do, I could say my daughter had a bad personality trait and I had nothing to make her
listen to me.

This is to me is just "rejecting my responsibilities as a teacher/father". Therefore, I always think over and over why I do not get a result I want. I
first think that I should be doing something wrong.

Don't you agree that this is a way we learn in order to improve ourselves?

So this is the point I wanted to make in the precious post.

Thank you again for your post and giving me an opportunity to express my point of view here.

Dec 19, 2010
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beaten after asking a question?
by: sean


Imafuji sensei,

I am a subscriber of yours and I respect your knowledge and your commitment to teaching kendo. However, I feel compelled to express my disappointment
with your answer for this particular question.

I understand the laws may be different in Mexico and that we don't know the whole story. Regardless, that sort of behavior would be a criminal offense
in the US possibly aggravated battery which is a felony.

Even if we assume the student was disrespectful, that is absolutely no excuse for a sensei to physically abuse a student. I feel your response was far
too forgiving and possibly promotes a dangerous attitude of tolerating violence. You should have advised the student that this was possibly a matter
for the police and that, at the least, he would likely be better off in a dojo that takes a more humane approach to teaching.


I fear this was not a one time offense either. A sensei who behaves this way, very likely abuses other students as well. Your reply only reinforced
that students should fear as well as respect the sensei. I hope you will consider another response to this student.


Regards,


Sean Gill

Kendo-Guide.Com:
Thank you for your comment. Due to the word limitation, I will put my answer to your post as a form of a post after your post.

Thanks!


Dec 15, 2010
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Thanks
by: yan

I'm really grateful, I will try to ask, but I don't think I'll see him again in a while because he was a stranger but was above 4 dan(I think).

After beating me he said I didn't have "spirit", and that I didn't pay attention, perhaps he was right.

I will follow your advice.

He also beat an old woman in the head.

Sincerely, thanks.


Kendo-Guide.Com:
I will leave my comment later in more detail. I still don’t know why he beat people.

What do you mean by "beat"?

He just beats people around without telling people why he beats them?

When you say "beat" do you mean during keiko as in jigeiko or something?

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