|
I think that at the heart of this issue comes down to a number of things. First we as Americans, really do not know hardship like the generations before us(WWII) have. We have the one of the most wasteful, instant gratification culture. Which really is magnified with recent generations. Today you will have a hard time, getting anyone to take that kind of abuse in almost anything. I have been through some physical Rigors of my own (US Army Ranger) and I can tell you firsthand. It is not really abusive physically, but more so mentally. Am I a masochist like some allude Matt to being? No. Japanese people at the time Osensei had the Jigoku dojo and immediately after WWII when Saito entered Iwama, were really toughened by what they had to endure merely to survive. This is in essence a Japanese characteristic. As developed through countless years of civil strife. Pre WWII historically Japan was gearing up for the War, and his students needed to be somewhat better prepared for the horrors that come with large scale conflict.
We as Americans in our current age are somewhat cushioned and sheltered from the hardships of survival. We watch it on the news and think that it doesn't apply to us. We have a disposable consumer culture that is a spiritual vacuum. There are the exceptions of course. But we live in a day and age where we can train in Aikido for many different reasons. And training like we are preparing for combat may not be one of them. But once again, in the days of Jigoku dojo and Iwama, you, the student needed to prove yourself to the teacher. Today in the West it is the exact opposite. The teacher had best make something of you or else, we take our money and leave.
Being Abusive as an instructor is a fine line that one should not cross. It is one thing to be hard and focused in your teaching or in your training. It is another thing entirely to be abusive. Have I ever been heavy handed with my students? Yes. Have they been deserving? Yes. Did they come back? The ones who saw that their ego was the ones making them act in such a manner, yes, they return a bit humbler and wiser for it. Those that don't return after being corrected. I don't care, those are not the students I want representing me. But I would not say that I was abusive, or even lead an abusive like class atmosphere.
I will finish this up with a quote from Rinjiro Shirata Shihan:
"I think young people had better train hard while they are young, especially those who intend to become instructors. Then they can become soft gradually. Being soft from the beginning is also worthwhile because if you cause young people to train hard some may give up Aikido. In this respect soft training has some merit...However, those who want to become instructors cannot reach that level unless they train hard."
|