Home Forums Krav Maga Worldwide Forums General KM Related Topics Hey SENSEI ((!!!????)

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 105 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #29127
    thor
    Member

    I am looking for a second place to practise Krav Maga. Broaden my horizons so to speak. A school that opened a few miles from my house looks promising.

    HOWEVER.

    In reading the school rules the owner insists that all instructors are called SENSEI. I never knew this was a hebrew word!! 😉 Besides the sensei thing he sends me a welcome message with bible quotes as a sig.

    Now I have some problems with that so I am hesitant to go train with this school.

    1 – I have always seen Krav as a straight forward military discipline. Not some mystical phylosophical eastern ‘art.’ While I find it natural to intially address everyone with respect until they prove otherwise, I find it hard to address them with titles I don’t fully grasp.

    2 – I had the best job in the military for 15 years (flew fighter jets) and I am sick of automatically addressing guys with titles. I found that those who insist on using them often deserve them least. You might be a great asskicker but that really carries no weight in my book.

    3 – I come to train, not to discuss bible quotes. To be honest, if I am going to fork over 100 bucks a month (1200$ a year!) I want you to teach me how to defend my family, my crew and myself. I could care less if you are a christian, a jew or a muslim. Your religion has no bearing on the business of self defense.

    Help me out here guys. Am I over sensitive? Did I get a bad attitude somewhere along the line? Am I going to miss out on a great education because of it? They offer Krav, Haganah, Kick Boxing and BJJ classes for crying out loud! Should I just ‘get over it’ and add this school in my weekly regimen? Or are these little warning signs that should tell me that this school and I are not compatible??

    #42932
    defensediva
    Member

    Thor- at our school (KMLI in NY), we call the instructors by their names. In fact, they make a point of telling new students to do so. The only quotes we have around the school are ones by people like Darren Levine (\”If he cuts off your arm, pick it up and beat him with it\”–that’s my favorite!). That’s as close to biblical as we get!

    Students at KMLI love the relative informality, but no one doubts that our instructors are WAY deserving of MAJOR respect. They are awesome!

    However, you may be being oversensitive, yes. If the school offers great training, then the few formalities here and there don’t seem so bad. But I sincerely doubt that calling an instructor \”sensei\” has anything to do with Krav Maga in general. Sounds like just a quirk of that school/instructor.

    #42934
    kmguy8
    Member

    i’d train somewhere else, personally

    anywhere with bible quotes – evil
    sensei – lol (next they’ll have you doing triple kicks while balancing on one leg!)

    follow your gut, not the advice from people on this site..

    #42935
    johnwhitman
    Member

    The whole \”sensei\” thing absolutely doesn’t come from us.

    You should train where you are comfortable!

    #42937
    la-revancha
    Member

    Sounds dubious.

    I have met/trained with/learned dozens of KM instructors from all over. The word sensei is noexistant in the majority of KM classes. When teaching other programs (ie, karate, TKD, TSD, etc.), sometimes the same KM instructors use the traditional titles.

    Are you certain you made it clear that it was the Krav program you were interested in and not a traditional martial art program?

    While this certainly sounds like an anomaly in the KM community, I wouldn’t sell it short until you participated in a class. If the training exhibits the qualities you are looking for, and you are comfortable there as John says, maybe you can talk to the intstructor that you feel uncomfortable about the \”sensei\” issue.

    Otherwise, I hope there are other options nearby.

    Keep us posted.

    #42940
    ffdo
    Member

    I would not train there for the same reasons as you Thor. I was also a pilot for 15 years in the military (Bones though) and have NO use for the rank structure that demands respect WITHOUT earning it. Those that earn it have my loyalty and more respect than ANY mandatory salute could ever come close to.

    The bible quotes would be a turn off for me as well, but thats just me. I don’t think you are over sensative at all.

    JC

    #42942
    kravmdjeff
    Member

    Thor, from my signature, you might assume I’m going to back the sensei guy up on the bible quotes. I’m not. I agree with your original gut assessment.

    I’m a Krav instructor, a graduate student in theology, and a practicing Christian, and I believe it takes away the credibility of a person in all areas if you use one to exploit the other. It would be out of line for me to use my position as an instructor in Krav Maga to promote my spiritual beliefs.

    As far as the sensei thing goes, the best thing I can think of is that this guy might be trying to advocate a certain degree of humility and willingness to learn in potential students (that’s a bit fat benefit of the doubt). and even then, there are other ways to do that, like displaying expertise/knowledge, showing true concern for the success of your students.

    #42943
    thor
    Member

    Thanks guys. Great feedback, I guess it’s not just me that gets turned off by the little things huh???

    John, I had some great classes with you guys in the national training center. I came to LA a few times just to take a class from Darren and yourself. And while I was anxious coming in (It’s kinda like sleeping with Charlize Theron the first time 🙄 ) I was impressed by the easy going and incredibly enthusiastic manner in which you guys instructed. You guys earned respect without requiring it.

    FFDO: I sure started losing weight when they introduced that bullet proof door, how about you?

    Again thanks, all of you. I will be training with my friends a bit more and continue with my current school a bit longer!

    #42958
    ffdo
    Member

    The bullet proof door is nice but I don’t count on it. Why I take KM now, the whole FFDO thing and why we teach a DT class through our ALPA chapter for the FFDOs and all the rest of the aircrew that want to attand.

    JC

    #42960
    usnavy-233
    Member

    Thor,
    I would completely agree with you on the point of calling him Sensei. I’m still in the military and I don’t like giving respect without it being earned. However, as Jeff sort of alluded to, just because he has a bible qoute as a signature doesn’t mean much. Without the signature, you would probably never find out he was (if he even is) a christian unless you asked. Bottom line, if you’re not completely comfortable with the set-up, you made the right call deciding not to go. Best of luck finding a good spot in your area.
    -Walt

    #42964
    bar-el
    Member

    I think that you should check out a class and see what happens. If he gives an elbow #1 demo and then follows it with a description of how David used it on Goliath, then I would say you should leave.

    People have all kinds of sigs on their email or even on their profiles as evidenced by KravMDjeff. But you can also see by his post that he is a thoughtful person. So I would say not to be put off by such things immediately.

    #42973
    niceguytoday
    Member

    sifu, sensei, sushi…none of it has a thing to do with Krav Maga. My vote would be to try a class or two and if it’s great training, stick with it. But if there is any emphasis on such title-formalities, then that’s already a departure from the Krav mentality.

    #42984
    jl
    Member

    respect

    In our classes respect is given to the instructor before and after class. No sensie, no sifu, no shidoshi….we simply show respect in the way we pay attention and apply what was instructed. after class we do bow to the instructor and then hi-five each other and the instructor for a class well done and the work put in by all. We believe that we are showing respect to each other this way. IMHO, you can show respect in Krav w/o the titles.

    As far as the biblical things, try going in and see if that is a big component, if so, move on to a center that has Krav Maga as the major component of teaching not ones religious belief. Good Luck and let us know what you find.

    #42985
    g-v
    Member

    My krav gym is also a karate place for kiddies, and my instructor is known in that crowd as Sensei Bert. In our class, he’s just Bert, or instructor Bert if you must get technical. Still, we do some dojo routines like stand at attention and bow at the end of class. Some guys also bow to the room before entering or leaving it. None of that wrecks my day.

    #42991
    kravmdjeff
    Member

    Re:

    quote \”Bar-El\:

    People have all kinds of sigs on their email or even on their profiles as evidenced by KravMDjeff. But you can also see by his post that he is a thoughtful person. So I would say not to be put off by such things immediately.

    Bar-El, I appreciate the affirmation. Many people are quickly (needlessly) put off by any reference to religion in public whatsoever. My feelings as an instructor (as influenced by \”Transfer of Knowledge\” lectures given both by Brent and John Whitman) helped me feel the full gravity of influence people may give me as an instructor. I have a right and responsibility to use that influence to help people get in shape and defend themselves. I would be abusing that influence to persuade them philosophically.

    …By the way, recent archaeological evidence suggests that it was actually a front kick to a vertical target, followed by a #4 punch combo, ending with two knees from a control position that gave David the advantage against Goliath. He subsequently did a stabbing knife defense against Goliath’s 7-foot long sword, taking it from him and cutting his head off, much to the chagrin of the Philistines.
    This supports the long-standing minority opinion held by east-German theologian Hans Luder that Goliath’s surname, \”Gath\” is not, as most previously held, his town of birth, but rather is the ancient Assyrian name for \”One who has succumbed to the power of the front kick to a vertical target\”

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 105 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Get Training!

EXPERIENCE KMW TODAY!

For more information call now at

800.572.8624

or fill out the form below: