The Roles and Rights of a Martial Arts Instructor

[47MartialMan]

So, where I can understand that a instructor cannot be so involved, professionally, and that the student has to make their own decisions, still some instructors, (non-commercial) tend to view their students as nieces/nephews, or themselves portraying a mentor. Not to state that they tell the students what to do with their lives, but have guidance to AID them through hard and confusing times.


Other professions do this from religious leaders/priests-reverends, to school counselors and coaches.

Nice reply posting Matt!

 

[Matt Stone]

So, where I can understand that a instructor cannot be so involved, professionally, and that the student has to make their own decisions, still some instructors, (non-commercial) tend to view their students as nieces/nephews, or themselves portraying a mentor. Not to state that they tell the students what to do with their lives, but have guidance to AID them through hard and confusing times.

This pseudo-familial relationship is what marks the MA instructor as different from the other professional disciplines, as a priest, lawyer, doctor, etc., would know that a suitable boundary must be maintained. The problem is that too many non-Asian instructors attempt to adopt extra-cultural relationships (e.g. teacher/father or teacher/uncle) and force those relationships onto their students.

Other professions do this from religious leaders/priests-reverends, to school counselors and coaches.

Those other professions do certainly provide advice and counseling in an attempt to aid the development of their clients/parish/students/etc. But they maintain a professional distance, violations of which are punishable by law.

 

[47MartialMan]

This pseudo-familial relationship is what marks the MA instructor as different from the other professional disciplines, as a priest, lawyer, doctor, etc., would know that a suitable boundary must be maintained. The problem is that too many non-Asian instructors attempt to adopt extra-cultural relationships (e.g. teacher/father or teacher/uncle) and force those relationships onto their students.

Those other professions do certainly provide advice and counseling in an attempt to aid the development of their clients/parish/students/etc. But they maintain a professional distance, violations of which are punishable by law.

Hear hear.....how true....