School vs. Training Hall

An eclectic reference to training hall vs. "school" to designate the distinction so understanding and proper intent can be applied.

eclectic - selecting what seems best of various styles or ideas; eclecticism - making decisions on the basis of what seems best instead of following some single doctrine or style; a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases; Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" (Hume 1998, 5). Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact that it was not a particular style.

Americans hear the word "school" or "classes" or "teacher" they naturally connect to past experiences, i.e. kindergarten, grade school, junior high, high school, college, etc. When they hear classes the associate the meaning to those various classes and classrooms where they would spend one hour on a particular subject with homework and a weekly/semester test to pass/fail.

When they see or hear or read an ad saying a local "teacher" is providing "classes" on some strange "subject" called "martial arts" they will come into that environment with a set of predefined idea's on what they are doing and what they "think" is required.

In regards to most, the sport theme martial art, this is usually a good relation of terms because the sport aspect as taught today and was taught in the fifties, etc. was "watered down and converted" to fit into the Japanese/Okinawan school systems more as a discipline, health, and physical fitness regimen. What Sam Walker and Marc MacYoung call "traditional karate or martial art." Post WW-II sport oriented physical fitness system holding the name karate, etc.

I did the same for many years then discovered when I changed my terms and references that those who trained and practiced with me actually and unconsciously changed the intent in their efforts within and without the training hall. I am still working on this aspect as I learn new things all the time that require a shift in how I present my training and how I practice.

I stay away from calling it a school; I stay away from calling it a class; I stay away from saying I teach or am a teacher; and this applies to other terms as I have recently changed from using "basics" in a broad way to a narrow venue of techniques as a part of a whole called fundamentals. Simply because of the perception of what a basic is, etc.

I no longer find "chinkuchi" as a whole but merely a word to describe a very narrow explanation of the fundamental principles of martial systems because by itself it remains limited and our goal in mentoring karate-ka is to not limit but open the box so they may see the entire Universe of Martial Systems.