Thread: giving grades
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Old 08-13-2003, 05:11 AM   #65
paw
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 768
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Drew, Ian,
Quote:
I realize that this was not directed at me, but I hope you're being sarcastic.
I was mostly trolling to set a hook. Namely, grading is needed for organizational reasons. I disagree for a couple of reasons.

1. The grading exam does not measure anything that indicates leadership potential, or leadership ability. Nor does it measure accounting skill, organizational skill, well...I think you get the picture. If there is some sort of connection between a grading exam and some type of necessarily ability needed to run an organization, I fail to see it.

2. There are alternative ways to run an organization that do not require rank. They may require some type of hierarchy, but rank is not needed for this.

Then there's this observation:
Quote:
Lower ranked students are told to look up to the higher ranked students for guidance.
They are aren't they. Hang around an aikido forum or talk to living breathing aikidoists and you'll hear a number of appeals to authority (ie "My sensei said", "My instructor's instructor said", "Doshu said", "O Sensei said/wrote"). Why is that? Hang around a bjj forum or talk to bjj'ers and that rarely occurs. The same is true of the boxers and wrestlers I've known. Is there something inherent in the way rank is viewed in aikido that results in aikidoists appealing to authority? Is such a tendency or attitude concerning?

Honestly, I don't know.

Finally, as for new students needing motivation. I find that increasingly harder to subscribe to, particularly in these United States. Ultimately, I feel we are all self-motivated. We either find some reason to commit to something, or we do not. I really do think it's that simple.

In the United States, I suspect we want the appearance without the performance. Performance is hard --- and it waxes and wanes. But appearance, especially that of mastery, this can be easy to get. See your local McDojo --- they have rank exams every two weeks and training 3 times a week, you'll be a shodan in two years. I can find a 1/2 dozen such places within biking distance from where I live, and they are packed with students. I'd happily glove up and spar with anyone in the school and not worry about it. Take me to boxing gym, and I won't spar with anyone training longer than 3 months (because they'll beat the stuffing out of me) The boxing gym awards no rank --- none, yet consistently produces better athletes and better fighters.

Regards,

Paul
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