Take responsibility helps, it is said, but what does it really mean to take responsibility and how does it help?
The instructor courses in Shindenkan have been created by Kimu Sensei, together with Shihan-kai and SOPORG, precisely with the aim of learning what responsibility is all about - he has also done this with other courses and this is exactly what empowerment in Shindenkan is all about - taking responsibility for oneself and others. Most of those who take part in the Instructor courses in Shindenkan can often get a surprise because the courses are designed to make you look at yourself for good and bad - i.e. you look at the areas of improvement you have and which often become very clear during the instructor courses.
But you have to recognize and accept that there is something to develop before you can do it - and it is precisely the recognition and acceptance that is the biggest and most difficult step in one's development as a human being, because it is precisely about responsibility - accepting something with the intention about changing it. It is not enough to think about it and talk about it – a deep-seated responsibility is about action behind thoughts and words.
Instructor course 1 is the practical part of the courses and this is where you find out that being an instructor and leader is not about hiding behind your belt, but about taking responsibility in the middle of massive chaos.
A massive chaos can occur anywhere in life and if you can handle it in one place, then you can handle it everywhere - because a chaos is precisely a chaos, regardless of whether it is a completely impossible group of students, a completely impossible group of employees, a completely impossible group of board members or, for that matter, a massive fight that you are in the middle of. It's about keeping calm and seeing the opportunities in the best possible way. Hmm, it sounds a bit like Jujutsu and TaskFighting – yes, the common thread goes again, because there is no difference in the internal clarification and the responsibility decision.
The only person in life who can take care of YOU is YOU and the only one who can take responsibility for YOU is YOU yourself - regardless of the situation you are in. Instructor course 1 emphasizes precisely this and the pressure is absolutely no less in Instructor course 2 – neither practical nor theoretical. And there is nothing better than learning something about yourself and then doing something about it 🙂
It's always easy to be positive and proactive on a sunny day, but what often happens when there's rain and headwinds on the cycle path? Then you do the opposite - Instructor courses 1 and 2 focus on this and equip the participants to be positive and act strongly when the sun is not shining, but when the resistance is greatest - and it often turns out that the greatest resistance comes from within and not at all from the outside - again you learn something about yourself and again it often turns out that you can do much more than you and others tell you - you just have to believe in it - we do that in Shindenkan, we believe in our members and hope that they also learn to believe in themselves.
Being an instructor in Shindenkan is about developing and being a role model on all fronts. Therefore, it is also important to equip instructors with knowledge so that they would be able to answer the questions new experienced members and their parents want.
What is Budo? Why is it also called Bujutsu? What is the difference? Why are there both martial arts and martial arts? Why are there both silver and gold stripes on the black belts in Shindenkan? What are Densho degrees and how do they differ from Dan/Kyu degrees.
Yes, there are many good questions among the members of Shindenkan and probably also outside the organization. But don't worry, because on Instructor Course 2 the participants are guided through and equipped to be able to answer all the questions they will face as instructors - and there are many of them, which is good because it just shows that there is interest, Sometimes, however, there can be questions that can be difficult to answer, but then it's good to know where you can get help 🙂
Anyone can teach karate. But seeing the individual students individually and taking them all on a journey requires insight, spaciousness and willingness, because it is not easy, but if you as an instructor are open and if you can be present for the sake of the students and not for yourself, then you can make a huge difference to other people – it requires being able to see beyond the tips of one's own nose and accept others and their abilities so that mutual acceptance and respect can be achieved. Both from student to instructor, but indeed also from instructor to student - it applies both ways.
At the same time, as an instructor, you must be able to see and handle the external factors that often come with when new students start training in Shindenkan. Some factors go by themselves and others need help along the way. But what they have in common is that they can create chaos and if you don't do something about them, they can create a chaos that gets bigger and bigger. So take responsibility and make thoughts, words and actions become one - then everything should go well 🙂
But remember that responsibility requires action and action requires responsibility.
