百戦錬磨
Hyakusenrenma
Veteran of many adversities in battle
In a dojo, every person is a teacher. The word sensei (先生) means “teacher,” but the kanji characters literally translate as “One who comes before.” A teacher is then the one who comes before us and guides us based on their past experiences. They use their past experiences in many hard fought battles to guide us so that we don’t make the same mistakes and our journey is easier. With that being said, every person in a dojo can be a teacher to another person. In a dojo, it is the responsibility of the sempai (先輩) or “senior” to take care of the kohai (後輩) or “junior.” That is why it is said that, “Everything in the dojo is your responsibility.” Years ago, we were cleaning the dojo and needed to dust behind the pictures. Usually, we take them down, dust the pictures and their spots, and then put them back up. This time, I wasn’t paying attention and a student took a short cut when dusting a picture of 2nd Doshu. Instead of taking the picture down, he just vacuumed behind the picture, and it fell off and shattered. Furuya Sensei came out of his office and got furious when he saw the picture of 2nd Doshu smashed on the ground. Angrily, he demanded to know who broke the picture. I saw the fear in the student’s eyes, and I said, “I did it.” Sensei took me into his office and threateningly said, “I know it wasn’t you, tell me who did it!” I replied, “I am the senior. I am in charge, and it is my fault.” Sensei looked at me with an angry frown and said, “Clean it up. I don’t want to step on any glass.” Then he slammed the door in my face. Every person is senior to another person in some way, shape or form. Being someone’s senior doesn’t mean that we get to lord over them and boss them around. To be someone’s senior is to take the responsibility to teach them and care for them. We may not be the teacher, but when we act as if we are a teacher, we take responsibility for everything and every person around us. To be responsible is to care and thus every person can be a teacher.
Today’s goal: Be responsible and take care of the people in your life.
Watch the latest episode of the Aiki Dojo Podcast: The Role of the Teacher