Teaching a person is an awesome responsibility one should not take without full understanding and comprehension as to what that entails. When you have influence over others that responsibility is daunting and important. Your influence as a teacher, i.e. sensei, means the person you influence will take to heart what you provide and allow it to change them mentally/psychologically, spiritually and physically that reaches to every facet of that persons life.
The stone you drop in their lives will have a ripple effect on everything the do, encounter and interact with. That thought alone is daunting and can only stand second to the responsibility of a parent to a child.
This can be explained from an Asian perspective by the many characters/ideograms that make up the word/title/term sensei.
先生 - teacher; master; doctor; with names of teachers, etc. as an honorific
宣誓 - oath; abjuration; pledge
先聖 - ancient sage; Confucius
専制 - despotism; autocracy
When we fist put on the black belt, i.e. kuro-obi, we start to think of running our own training hall to teach what we have learned to others. This is often begun at sho-dan before one can begin/finish being mentored in the teaching methods/abilities of a senior experienced person.
Take a look at the characters/ideograms above and take notice of words such as master, oath, pledge, sage and honorific title/names. When such a title is awarded it should speak to the full and complete education, understanding and proficiency of the individual to take on the awesome responsibility and tasks that say sensei.
No more is this important when teaching, training and practicing a physical combative form or system that is a martial art regardless of whether Asian, Western or European in heritage. It all begins with a sensei with kyoiku noryoku or teaching ability.
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