The School Metaphor

I finally get it. The school metaphor and why it is so readily accepted in the martial arts teaching world. It is that metaphor that best connects our American way of thinking and communication that best exemplifies the old world Okinawan karate dojo methods of "teaching."

The metaphor of the school is one of the most common unifying metaphors used by the general American of any gender. We all have experienced at a minimum of twelve years in that environment. Some of us went on to gain four to eight more years with the school environment. We know the rules of that game.

Dr. Suzette H. Elgin, Ph.D. uses the world of football (or other major sport) vs. the world of the schoolroom to explain how a unifying metaphor can provide a means to syntonic communications. Since the schoolroom and school is a shared and unifying experience for all of us across all boundaries I can now see why it is so permeated in American Martial Arts. It fits.

The only breakdown is the lack of fully understanding the legacy of Asian Martial Arts instruction with Sensei, Sempai, Kohai, Deshi, etc. as compared to those of students in the school and schools classrooms. There is that disparity that leads to possible misunderstandings as to a student of MA vs. a student of a subject in a classroom.

What I perceive as a student and all the requirements laid out that the student must meet for my dojo is not the same as what a new beginner perceives as the requirements for a subject in a school curriculum. They are similar in general but not even close to being alike in the details. This is important and worthy of greater study.