Christian Tissier's 8th Dan promotion (or not)
For the non French speakers, I did a quick translation in English of the open letter of Christian Tissier Shihan to the heads of French Aikido regarding his promotion to 8th Dan.
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Best, Chris |
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Re: Christian Tissier's 8th Dan promotion (or not)
I have no knowledge of this specific matter nor of the way French Aikido is organized, but it is always sad when politics stands in the way of the development of Aikido - be that teachers, grades, students, organisations, dojos or any other aspect. Alas it seems to be more and more frequent once higher ranks are being discussed.
Recently a Danish person has been awarded 8th dan in Iaido (think it is Muso Shinden Ryu) which is - as far as I know - the first outside Japan, and it has been quite an unorthodox decision. 8th dan for Tissier sensei would be also quite a steppingstone forward in recognition of the globalization of Japanese Budo. I hope the two organsiations will find a way to mend their relationship. Jørgen Jakob |
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In Germany it is illegal for a scientist to call himself Dr. unless that Ph.D. was from a German university or an exception applied for and granted. I just can't fathom the thinking behind this - who comes up with these laws and why. |
Re: Christian Tissier's 8th Dan promotion (or not)
It is indeed a shame that well-deserved recognition should come with so many "hooks" in it. Tissier Sensei has handled this in a classy and unselfish manner. I hope that more sensible priorities will prevail.
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I have always wondered about the division of aikido in france and the 2 associations, which I believe goes back a number of years. This situation is unlikely to heal any rifts. A real shame.
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Re: Christian Tissier's 8th Dan promotion (or not)
Follow up from my post Chris Li's excellent article an interview with Tamura Sensei part 2 gives a little indication that the split was complicated.
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This is interesting - there is a Shodokan Aikido club in Paris that I am sure is outside the French Aikido system. Rogue in more ways than one.
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Bravo to M. Tissier. Very appropriately done. As Peter wrote, laws such as this regarding the banning of titles earned outside their jurisdiction are ridiculous. Upon verification, there should be a recognition of rightly earned degrees and titles from other countries. Pretty juvenile not to really...
** Peter, with regard to our lineage... Tam pis...Tout jours l'audace!!!! |
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I wonder what would happen if CSDGE certified a grading but hombu declined? Or is hombu a true rubber stamp in the process? Best, Chris |
Re: Christian Tissier's 8th Dan promotion (or not)
If Hombu awards him his 8th Dan then he is an 8th Dan the rest of the world. Who cares about french budo politics.
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One reason I could conceive of for a country to decide to sanction and control the rankings for practitioners of foreign martial arts would be if public facilities and perhaps funding is made available to people for practicing martial arts. You might not want someone with a black belt from a belt mill to come in and say "okay, I am going to start using the gymnasium over there with the sprung floor to teach my students, I will need a couple of two-hour blocks a week." And whatever else they might demand, I am an American so my imagination does not serve me very well here. But the point is, IF (and not sure if this is the picture in France, but I think it is something like it) the people decided to set aside a bunch of public funds for facilities for martial arts instruction, there would have to be some kind of official vetting process for people who were going to teach there. And maybe you'd want to do that INSIDE the martial arts system you were trying to support as opposed to externally. |
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"Just reading that section of the interview gave me a headache" .....Yes me too but I also felt that I needed a nap after reading as well. I think I'll go back and read it on those nights I can't sleep LOl.. |
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Best, Chris |
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Probably just need the English to provide an 8th dan promotion or two and the French will sort themselves out real quick ;)
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Years ago we welcomed a French student to our club for a while. Over drinks I asked her how testing was conducted in her dojo, as I was curious.
She went on to explain that both aforementioned Federations tested their students at the same time, with a board comprised of an equal number from each Federation. If I remember correctly, she stated that your testing partner was from the other Federation (and yes, this meant each Federation had to present the same number of students for testing), and that the board had to agree that either both passed their tests or both failed. Yes, this meant that sometimes you should have passed but you and your partner were failed because you partner sucked miserably, or that you passed though you sucked but your partner shinned. With the above in mind, this all makes sense, and I am most impressed with Tissier Sensei's tact in this matter. |
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Tissier sensei has done the best thing but it's a shame that this situation exists. This exposes the worst of organisations and of government.
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The reasons why titles don't automatically cross, is because standards are different in different countries. I certainly wouldn't want a "doctor" automatically being granted the ability to call himself that, and operate on patients, simply because he got a "doctor" title in some random third world country. Whenever a title carries responsibility with it, it's important to make sure that the title also lives up to the demands of that responsibility. In the case of Martial Arts, it can be to avoid injury of students, avoid teaching hazardous moves, avoid getting leeches gaining government funding, and so forth. |
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That being said, I do not think that the fact that the government wanting to regulate titles and teaching credentials is necessarily a bad thing. I have seen too many dangerous things being taught to children in my time abroad by unqualified, so-called Sensei. Also, let's not forget that Aikidoka in France are 70 000 strong primarily thanks to the generous help of the government in terms of funding and facilities. If really people wanted to get rid of the state's influence, they probably could, but it means that they would have to become real pros and loose benefits from the government's generosity. Tuitions would also get a lot more expensive as a result. So I think that given the context, Christian Tissier's response is exemplary, but as far as the situation is concerned, things are not as simple as it seems. |
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