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Completed the teaching course and passed. Yay me, etc. I have to say I actually enjoyed the course and found it useful. Yeah I know: Alex doesn't like courses and they're as useful as a fishing rod in the desert yada yada.
Aside from that I got this sense of, I suppose family, from the course, not so much from the people who were from other associations and styles but from people in my association. Not that the other guys were anything but friendly but reccently I find that people know who I am and are pleased to see me which to me is always unexpected.
Something I picked up from the course was in the part about group norms and something resonated with me in that I came into the dojo and everyone was standing around drinking tea (yeah on the mat, what rebels we are ) and I walked in and sat down and I was the only person sitting. I suppose I never feel part of the group or a need to conform to the group norms.
Then later it occured to me that that's my dojo, we're a group of people who normally don't conform to group norms and this is reflected in how Sensei teaches us or at least the senior of us where he has adopted a very co-operative teaching style, we're left to get on with it and we call him in when we need him.
Our dojo is the one people with issues with authority go to and the people who basically think they can do anything and are the best and can get where they're going (the top) with only need a little help and that must be a massive challenge for Sensei.
06-27-2011 04:53 PM 
