How much control does the Sensei have over the Dojo environment?

Reflections on goons, thugs and wilting flowers.

The balance needed to ‘get it right’.

These musing are coming of the back of my recent piece, ‘Martial arts training, what’s your goal’ https://budojourneyman.substack.com/p/martial-arts-training-whats-your where I mentioned the cartoonish image of the ‘real fight gyms, where bones are broken…etc, etc’ words from the ramblings of a so-called Internet ‘influencer’.

But also, I am inspired by the more forthright and moral tone from this YouTube piece about how Japanese Koryu (Old School) are losing their vitality; ‘Koryu the martial truth’ by Michael Calandra;

There is a balance of responsibilities here; one that resides firmly in the hands of the Dojo Sensei, and it’s a serious one.

Get it wrong and the consequences for the whole Dojo can be calamitous. There is so much on the line; not only the personal and professional reputation of the Sensei, but also the reputation of the school or organisation he/she is a representative of. And it goes further than that; individual students will suffer, potentially, right up to the point of physical injury.

The Sensei is like the captain of a ship, and has to keep a firm hand on the tiller. He/she has to have strength, integrity, humanity, and a command of what is now referred to as ‘soft skills’. It’s a big ask.

If any of those qualities are deficient a certain brand of toxicity can become embedded.

It’s rather like horticulture.

Not every plant can thrive in a hothouse.

I rather like the image conjured up by martial artist and author Dave Lowry, when he describes the Dojo as a kind of crucible, rather like the picture presented by Michael Calandra in the video above. Some of the oldest traditions of Japanese martial arts writings tend to use the language of the blacksmith’s shop; talking about ‘forging’ (Tanren) and the ‘white heat of discipline’, all good stuff.

But, there are also references to the nurturing of young plants; watering, pruning and offering support to direct growth and keep it on the right path. And yes, the Dojo can be referred to as a ’hothouse’. Too little heat or too much heat and the plants will not thrive, they will become stressed and die.

This care and balance has come from the experience and watchful wisdom of the Sensei. To be truly effective for the individual, direction and guidance has to be bespoke (some people need more heat, others need to be introduced to it more gradually).

A recipe for disaster.

I have seen karate Sensei who have got this wrong; taking a ’one size fits all’ approach, usually pitched at the more extreme end of the spectrum. Any success they have tends to be short-lived as the gene pool of people who think just like them, shrinks to a stagnant puddle. This is ‘exclusiveness’ not ‘inclusiveness’.

Of course, the other end of the spectrum is equally disastrous. Things are made so easy that their value diminishes to zero.

The whole Dojo environment.

But, to return to the theme; it is the Sensei who controls the environment. He/she knows when to encourage and apply (appropriate) praise, but also when to put his/her foot down and call out bad attitude or slack behaviour.

Example; the Dojo thug.

‘Thug’ is a better word than ‘bully’ although it is certainly no more loveable (there is no such thing as a ‘loveable thug’ unlike perhaps a ‘loveable rogue’?)

All the thugs I have ever met in the Dojo environment are just goons and they have two common characteristics, the first being that they have no awareness of actually being ‘a goon’ and the second that they tend to have various degrees of unteachability – i.e. they don’t listen.

If you are in charge of a Dojo and you witness goonish/thuggish behaviour, deal with it straight away, or your other Dojo members will vote with their feet, often without mentioning a word about it – one day here, next day gone.

To be fair, there is a difference between a goon and somebody who is ‘a bit clumsy’. The goon does it with malice and gets pleasure out of asserting their dominance over others, with the mistaken belief that it makes them tougher to endure. The clumsy guy tends to be just a klutz who responds well to the Sensei being up-front and pointing out where things went wrong, and is often genuinely remorseful.

In conclusion.

Ultimately, the responsibility is in the hands of the Sensei. But the Dojo members are not just passive receivers; they have a say in what is going on and, as developing martial artists, have a stake in their own training. They are not just powerless minions who have things ‘imposed’ upon them.

The Dojo is supposed to be a nurturing environment where the component parts, that make up the whole, are working like a well-oiled and harmonious machine. That’s the theory anyway.

How it’s supposed to work is that we all invest into the project and the payback returns to us with handsome rewards.  As individuals we are spiritually, physically and intellectually richer as a result – this has always been the intention.

Please feel free to comment below. It’s always good to have a discussion on these things.