Kid Sensei's?????

[MartialMom]

I saw something at a recent tournament that made me do a double take. There was a little boy there about the size of my 7 year old, he had a Sensei patch on his Gi. This makes me wonder....are there such things as little kid Senseis?....maybe he just admired his Sensei and this was his way of showing it....maybe I'm too critical and this is the norm in some styles.

Anyone have a viewpoint on this? It, quite frankly, boggled my mind.

Sheri

 

[The Kai]

If you give a Kid a Black belt, you are defacto giving him the status of teacher, so it is possible

 

[Blindside]

Its a friggin' joke, and so is that kids instructor.

Lamont

 

[MartialMom]

In our dojo 1st Dan cannot be reached until they are 16 and even then the title Sensei must be granted, it's not an automatic.

The kid was wearing a Brown 3 belt.

 

[Ceicei]

This just reminded me of how some countries used to have child/youth kings. They didn't have much life experience, but much of the matters that needed attention and action were handled by the king's capable adult leaders/aides. Basically, they were "puppet" kings.

I would think the analogy is similar. Kid senseis don't have life experience either. How can they be able to deal with life/death questions related to martial arts and and other such issues?

Now if this kid is a "senior" student in the kids' classes at his school and he is an instructor for the other kids, then I suppose he could conceivably be called a sensei. I would think, however, there would be an adult leader overseeing these classes.

- Ceicei

 

[The Kai]

Obviously they can't, what they can do is provide another Karate Punch Line. Why is it people don't take MA's serious?

 

[MichiganTKD]

Being a black belt does not grant you the right to teach. Permission to teach or assist in teaching must be granted to you by your instructor. Black belt just means you know the basics. A child may hold black belt but not be able to teach. And a child is certainly too young to hold the title "Sensei", which would be the equivalent of "Sa Bum Nim" in Korean. Even assistant instructor is pushing it. Be very wary of Instructors who allow that. Some of our Instructors allow young black belts to assistant instruct, and I don't agree with that. I think the youngest a person can assist is 15.

 

[Touch Of Death]

While I agree with your sentiment, leading students through some basics is pretty straight forward as an example, but to have this person address individuals as an expert would be disconcerting to say the least.
Sean

 

[The Kai]

To the general public, the rank of black belt confers a certain expertise. John Q public would think Black Belt is a teaching rank. IMHO Black belts should be able to teach, granted just the basics, but they are of the rank

 

[Brother John]

To the general public, the rank of black belt confers a certain expertise. John Q public would think Black Belt is a teaching rank. IMHO Black belts should be able to teach, granted just the basics, but they are of the rank

I understand where you are coming from here. BUT: it is different in different arts and associations. There are some where once you wear a black BANG: you teach. There are others where you have to be 2nd or 3rd black first. Still others require that you have a 'teachers warrant' or certificate....no matter your rank.

oh well... this kids delusion is unfortunate. The teachers delusion.... a shame.
The very words that go into the compound title "Sensei"...
Sen= go before
Sei= senior MAN

just doesn't go well on a minor, I'd think.

Your Brother
John

 

[Andrew Green]

If you give a Kid a Black belt, you are defacto giving him the status of teacher, so it is possible

No you're not. Different styles do things different, sometimes 1st black is a LOW rank achieved in 2-3 years, no where near an instructor level.

Anyways, back to the question. Who knows, the word "sensei" is missused quite a bit in the west... ok, most of the time.

It would be inappropriate for a adult to call a 7 year old sensei, a 5 year old on the other hand... But then again it would be inappropriate for a 50 year old Doctor to call his 40 year old 5th dan karate instructor "sensei" too....

So, what does it matter. No one really uses "proper" Japanese, and why should we? The english language "borrows" words and "re-interprets" them slightly, thats just how it was made up. Some use "Sensei" to mean "wears a black belt", take it for what it is worth.

 

[MJS]

In all of the schools I've trained at, the title 'Sensei' was reserved for the Head Instructor of the school. I'd be interested in knowing what rank this child was. IMHO, 7 yrs of age is way too young to be a black belt. Many schools have an age requirement for BB, but will offer a Jr. BB, until they are old enough to test for the adult black.

I could see if they were in their teens having them assist the instructor teaching that particular class, but the title...no, IMO that is not right.

Mike

 

[arnisador]

I know some styles reserve 'sensei' for 3rd degree black belt.

But, I'd agree that in the States, the battle has largely been lost. In fact, that's so much the case that when I read this initially I didn't assume that we were talking about Karate necessarily...I've seen 'sensei' used by people in Korean and other arts.

 

[Eldritch Knight]

That's the way I've seen it used in Japan, at least with the MA I've experienced there. If you're 4th Dan or higher, your title is sensei. Not san, not sama, and not senpai. Sensei. A 7th dan would call a 5th dan "sensei" and vice-versa because those're their titles (they could call use lesser titles, but strictly socially). Other than that its pure and simple. If a kid can prove to me that he's at that level without making me laugh out loud, then I'd call him sensei too.

 

[Kempogeek]

In all of the schools I've trained at, the title 'Sensei' was reserved for the Head Instructor of the school. I'd be interested in knowing what rank this child was. IMHO, 7 yrs of age is way too young to be a black belt. Many schools have an age requirement for BB, but will offer a Jr. BB, until they are old enough to test for the adult black.

I could see if they were in their teens having them assist the instructor teaching that particular class, but the title...no, IMO that is not right.

Mike

I had a friend whose teenage daughter was in Tang Soo Do and progressed so well that she was asked to be an assistant instructor for the kids classes. I believe she was a green belt at the time. Im not sure but I remember she was a high rank. Best regards, Steve

 

[MJS]

I had a friend whose teenage daughter was in Tang Soo Do and progressed so well that she was asked to be an assistant instructor for the kids classes. I believe she was a green belt at the time. Im not sure but I remember she was a high rank. Best regards, Steve

I see nothing wrong with that. IMO, its good, as it gives people an idea as to what its like to teach, as well as making sure that the people learning know the material.

I've had kids helping me during large classes. I would use them to review material with the lower rank students. As far as the actual teaching went, I was the one to do that.

In addition, in some schools, it is mandatory for people to have a certain number of hours that they helped during a class, prior to their black belt.

Mike

 

[Miles]

While I don't use the advanced kids as assistant instructors, we do show them as fine examples or models.

I may have a poom student demonstrate a particular technique or combination or poomsae, but they are a model, not an instructor.

A black belt-adult or child, is not automatically an instructor in our dojang.

Miles