Who is Your Sensei?

The only person I call my sensei is the guy who has been teaching me aikido almost every single day for the past six years. I don't know why someone would call someone their sensei if they don't train with them regularly.

And you will study each other from both near and far.

In gassho

Mark

Absolutely,

Domo arigato

Karen Wolek wrote: The only person I call my sensei is the guy who has been teaching me aikido almost every single day for the past six years. I don't know why someone would call someone their sensei if they don't train with them regularly.

Long-distant relationship with a commitment.

Jennifer Smith wrote: Long-distant relationship with a commitment.

Friends with...no, wait, let's not go there.

Jennifer Smith wrote: You Are! You Are! Oh, I thought for a second the thread was "Who's your Daddy".My bad. Joe, you got me laughing again......

Careful Ms. Jen.....
You are painting QUITE colorful word pictures here!!
Or I am just rolling around in the same old mental gutter as usual.
>shrug<
Lan

As I said in my introduction, I learned Minami-ryu JuJitsu from Jack Garrett sensei - he was my first martial arts instructor, and even though I don't train with him anymore, I would absolutely call him "my" sensei, because there was an association - I was training under him, he was the teacher.

It doesn't matter (to me) that I'm not actively training with him any more - I've decided to train in Aikido instead, and while he is an accomplished Aikidoka (4th dan, I believe), he primarily teaches JuJitsu. He really earned my respect as a great teacher, and that's why I would always call him sensei.

Very soon I hope to be starting up as a regular student with NOLA Aikido (work schedule still to be worked out), and once I start training regularly there, I feel it will be appropriate to call him "my" sensei - again, it's an association, not a possession as Mr. Reyer pointed out so succinctly.

-Bryan

When I introduced my 2 year old to Imaizumi Sensei and he welcomed him onto the mat, that sealed it. Honorary title for life.

The guy who showed me how to do a forward roll from a seated position when I was wearing a track suit with no Aikido experience, the same guy who taught me to slice bamboo (held by tissue paper and knives) with a blunt ken. Same guy who said I will teach you to walk and then you design your own dance moves. Same guy who gave me rank on my birthday. That is someone I am proud to call "my" Sensei ,bad grammar and all! Forever in debt to an individual so giving.

The true question is who do you call your instructor?

No, Im just joking around - but here is why.

As I put in another post, for us the Sensei title is not given out until 3rd dan, which is equivalent it seems to master here - (they train years here to reach that level)

My instructor is a 1st dan, so he is not 'technically' what we would call Sensei, but Sempai. (Again, as mentioned its all a matter of semantics.)

But the interesting bit is that on my ranking certificates, I have 3 signatures, and the field that says 'instructor' has my teachers instructors signature, even though I train with him only at seminars. (I suppose its because he is a Sensei and my teacher is still 'sempai'.)

My teachers name, as well as the name of another sensei is in the witness field.

Anyway, thought it was interesting that, on paper, that my instructors name was not in the instructor field. But this may actually be normal. - on a Dan test, isnt the highest ranking dans name present put in the instructors field? (In that case, if I stay in Hungary and test here, I will have one of the Japanese Shians name as my instructor I suppose.)

Peace

dAlen

Dalen Johnson wrote: The true question is who do you call your instructor? No, Im just joking around - but here is why. As I put in another post, for us the Sensei title is not given out until 3rd dan, which is equivalent it seems to master here - (they train years here to reach that level) My instructor is a 1st dan, so he is not 'technically' what we would call Sensei, but Sempai. (Again, as mentioned its all a matter of semantics.) But the interesting bit is that on my ranking certificates, I have 3 signatures, and the field that says 'instructor' has my teachers instructors signature, even though I train with him only at seminars. (I suppose its because he is a Sensei and my teacher is still 'sempai'.) My teachers name, as well as the name of another sensei is in the witness field. Anyway, thought it was interesting that, on paper, that my instructors name was not in the instructor field. But this may actually be normal. - on a Dan test, isnt the highest ranking dans name present put in the instructors field? (In that case, if I stay in Hungary and test here, I will have one of the Japanese Shians name as my instructor I suppose.) Peace dAlen

Not sure how the rest of the systems work,
I am only a custom to our dojo policy but here our 3rd dan (and anyone ranked over yourself) are sempai and the certificate has only Kancho`s name and business hanko on it, he is 7th dan, he is the only guy in the dojo refered to as Sensei. The dojo has split from a huge organisation in the past 2 years. Politics are nothing to me at this point in my Aikido venture...just learn as much as I can and honor my Aikido roots.