An aspect that many martial Sensei encounter is the situation in which dominance relations and status are either balanced or highly imbalanced. In a martial dojo normally you find a highly imbalanced one. There are power relationships where Sensei give rules and grades for rank while practitioners have to follow rules and receive grading for rank.
When we don the karate-gi and enter the dojo Sensei sometimes forget that the persons lined up are often accustomed in daily life to positions of power who now find themselves subordinate to someone who in life may not have experienced a position in life of power other than the dojo. This can mean difficult times for both. If you run a dojo for a living you can guess how that may affect enrollment.
Lets add that sometimes in the dojo the communications that occur go in in a public forum. It is a setting that requires the Sensei be cautious about losing face in the dojo, while the practitioner is also leery of losing fact before his/her peers - looking foolish.
Needless to say what can and does happen - tensions. Take care on both sides and remain aware of this so that communications are such that both remain respectful, get the job done, and avoid the pitfalls of this type of situation all to common and frequent in dojo settings.
This brings us back to teaching styles and the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense. You need to actively listen, determine the sensory mode, recognize satir modes and watch the body for indications the tensions are there and causing stress or resulting in a failure to convey properly to a practitioner - teaching or instructing or mentoring.
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