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Old 02-07-2009, 11:19 PM   #8
Buck
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 950
United_States
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Re: Underqualified Sensei

Quote:
Mitchell Rister wrote: View Post
Anyone can rent a building and start their own dojo, regardless of their experience and knowledge of aikido. They can exaggerate on their qualifications to teach and a person new to aikido can be easily mislead. I feel sorry for the gullible students of these type teachers. I also feel frustrated that they are representing aikido so poorly. Some people go to see aikido for the first time and will leave thinking that aikido is BS.

Sometimes a student moves to an area where there isn't a dojo and must start their own in order to keep training. In these situations, I think that it is okay to teach as long as the sensei and the students continue to learn from a parent dojo. I think that the sensei owes it to themselves and their students to continue to learn.

What are your thoughts?
First, as if this will ever happen, Aikido sensei's shouldn't give rank out so easily. Second, there is no public benchmark for a Sensei or skill of Aikidokas. Third, what can you really do?

I look at it this way, you train with the people you like, people you fit into first. Then you look if the Sensei can teach, is the Sensei able to communicate the info so you will learn. Then it is how good is the Sensei's skill. Followed by, weighing the need to fit in with fulfilling your need to be at Aikido. Or what ever you want from it.

More importantly you have to look at personal character, is the sensei a fraud, con artist, a bully, a victimizer etc. all those thing you should be looking at first. Cause just because you call someone or insisted upon to do so, doesn't make that person perfect.
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