Creating Your Own Dojo

In a recent article by Jesse Encamp, the Karate Nerd, he states in the lead, "When Should I Leave My Sensei and Start My Own Dojo?" Now, that is one loaded question and the short answer would be, "It depends!"

This can go back several lineages of Sensei such as his or her sensei to sensei's sensei to "sensei's, sensei's, Sensei," all the way to the guy who created the particular instance or style of karate. Let me say this, as a trained Marine Instructor as well as an experienced Teacher, Trainier and Leader both as a Marine and as a Sensei there are FEW who actually have the training to teach, not instruct, but to teach, mentor and lead.

Second, I used to say no one should attempt teaching, without direct hands-on guidance from a QUALIFIED teacher, trainer and mentor before reaching the grade or level of San-dan. Why? Because seldom have I seen or experienced a testing criteria that includes those traits one must have, believe and exude in the way they walk, talk, teach, train, mentor and actually live daily the life of a true teacher. 

As an example, here are some traits of a true teacher one must embrace and utilize to properly teach anything let alone karate as self-defense or self-fense. READ HERE https://tinyurl.com/y6mupflh

I am going to get a lot of flack here but there are few who are qualified to teach karate and that is just the way of it because it is too deeply engrained in the community and systems to believe and accept and therefore change. As a qualified instructor and knowledgable teacher, mentor and leader I stopped hands-on teaching about a decade ago because I was just not perceiving, seeing and believing that what I was using to pass on my knowledge and experience as actually effecting the end results and there is that I got older, maybe wiser and since I focused on the self-fense of karate felt there were aspects that needed a more experienced qualified teacher like those who actually lived a certain life style or worked a certain discipline that required such experiences. 

As to the San-dan requirement I stopped preaching that one because no one would listen simply because their sensei said their sensei did it this way and we should not change it type rhetoric. That is a true buzz killer don't you know. 

So, to answer the question should I step off to create my own dojo remains to be answered with, "It depends!" Just because you have a black belt; just because you hold a high grade or level of achievement as represented by your belt; and just because everyone did it this way so it must be correct DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN TEACH; DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE TRULY A MASTER; DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE QUALIFIED to teach karate. 

Here is the final rub, if you have to ask, "YOU AREN'T QUALIFIED" so keep working hard and then one day, you will know that you are ready. Meanwhile, if your dojo and sensei are not passing on teaching traits similar to what I presented in the link above and a whole lot more seek out and learn how to be a great teacher, mentor and leader and start exuding it in your attitude and personality while training, practicing and living the life of karate in and out of the dojo.