Enson said:
there are some terms that sensei uses that are japanese... "the one who went before" would cualify him as sensei then.
Whether he is "qualified" for the term, or if the term would be applied to him in another school, does
not mean that he
should use it, especially if his background, training, and current teaching methodology eschew the use of non-English, style/culture-specific terms.
If he is going to teach in English, using English terms for techniques, then "sensei" doesn't really fit in the overall logic of his approach, does it?
like a mentioned before he doesn't like to be called sensei but will tolerate it.
That's awfully nice of him...
he also goes by the term "founder, master instructor".
So, what, you walk into the school and say "Good afternoon Founder Master Instructor Tews?" Quite the mouthful, that... Why can't he just use "Mister?" Why use a title of any kind, for that matter?
i think sensei is a generic term anyway. if he couldn't use the word "sensei" then you can't use the word taco because its a spanish word.
And here your thinking errs terribly... When I say "taco" you and anyone else familiar with the term will conjure in their mind's eye an image of a kind of food consisting of, but not limited to, a hard or soft tortilla outer shell with meat, cheese, lettuce and other ingredients contained inside. When I say "sensei," the concept brought to mind with anyone familiar with the term is that of a martial arts teacher from a
Japanese martial art. Not from a Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian, Russian, Korean or Greek martial art, mind you, but from a
Japanese martial art.
This is a symptom of an ongoing erroneous method of thinking that is very peculiar to American martial arts... The use of foreign language terms with no recognition nor acknowledgement of the term's actual meaning and appropriate use. American martial artists, most often from "homegrown" and/or questionable origins, feel that they can use whatever terms they like in order to associate their actions with something reputable and recognizable (thereby increasing their student enrollment).
You can't just pick and choose what terms you use and don't use, nor can you pick and choose what they mean
for you. They come from living, active languages, spoken by real people in the modern age, and therefore if you are going to use them you should use them correctly or not at all. All it does is make you look like an idiot for their misuse, and encourage the same ignorance to be perpetuated by your students. This is a disservice to the entire body of martial arts. It is selfish and arrogant for one teacher, student, or style to propagate misinformation solely to define thier autonomy.
Oh yeah, it makes you look like a fake to people who know better, and that does little to further your goals. It degrades your legitimacy in the eyes of your peers and the martial arts community at large, and in the long run will assist in the decline of your art, ensuring its ultimate demise (regardless of its usefulness).
Just a thought.
:asian:
) he went on to look for another more effective art. he moved to europe and began to train under dr. roy martina tja kai martial science system. after recieving his ranking there... he went on to go earn his dan's in hapkido. After his stay in europe sensei came back to the states and moved to texas where he became a student of robert bussey's. he became an insturctor under rbwi and then went off to create RTMS.
