Don't give advice to other peoples students

Don’t give advice to other peoples students

August 30, 2010 |  by George McCall  |  kendo, teaching  |  No Comments

他人の弟子をアドバイスするな。

子供たちは順調に伸びていくわけではない。
右に行ったり左に逸れたりしながら伸べていくのだ。
右に曲がっているものを矯正するには、
真っ直ぐではなくて。
左に行きすぎるぐらいにしないと真っ直ぐにはならない。
それが解って指導できるのは、直接の師匠だけなのである。

出稽古などに行って、よその門下生と稽古するときは、
スキがあったら打ってやればいい。メンばかり打ってくる子に、
「コテもドウもあるよ」などと言わない方がいい。
訳あって「メンの稽古をしろ」と言われているかもしれないのだ。

Don’t give advice to other peoples students!

Kids (kendo) doesn’t always improve according to plan.
If you go too far to the right the only way to fix it is aim left, not by simply going straight ahead.
In fact, if you don’t bend extra far to the left then things won’t straighten themselves out.
The person who understands how to do this is the kids direct teacher alone.

If you go for degeiko (training outside your dojo) etc and keiko with other teachers students you should strike them whenever you see an opening. If all they do is attack your men you shouldn’t stop them and say “you can also strike kote and dou as well you know.”
After all, they might have been told (by their teacher) to “practise only men” as far as you know…


Arriving in Japan back in 2003 I immediately started searching for a dojo and a good teacher. Although I finally found a good dojo, and practised there constantly for 2 years, I didn’t really find a the kind of teacher I was after. Strong sensei, yes, but nobody that inspired or mentored me like Mr Miyagi did Daniel.

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