Group Rituals

Ah-ha moment. One that crops up in the subconscious and today out in the open because of the quote by Clarke Sensei of the Shinseidokan Dojo blog. The idea that one can truly learn to fight in a group environment without the personal one-on-one relationship of the Sensei to the practitioners.

Much like most teaching environments the greater the ratio of teacher to student the greater the loss of quality instruction to learning. In the most advantageous situations of mentoring the ratio should be no-more-than five to one, i.e. five practitioners to one Sensei and that is stretching it a lot. The ideal is three to one, i.e. three students to one Sensei.

This ratio seems, to my perception and limited experience, to work well so that you don't fall into a routine with only the one practitioner/novice to the same Sensei. The other two add enough perceptive differences to allow some additional challenges.

You might argue the the larger training group would provide a wider range of different challenges but remember that a large group without the proper ratio will lose more than it gains. Also, don't forget that just because one is a Sho-dan and in associate/assistant instructor status does not mean they are qualified to meet this ration, i.e. one sho-dan for each three to five practitioners with an overall larger dojo group, etc.

When you get lost in the crowd it becomes difficult to see the value of training from within your own self, your own heart and your own mind because you spend to much time trying to find and follow the correct path where in the right situation you can find it and then blaze that trail on your own with proper mentoring.

The group tends to fall into rituals that promote ease of conducting larger groups in sessions. It creates an environment where the dojo Sensei spreads themselves thinly losing the true connection necessary to transfer karate or any martial system.