Kuchi bushi: a greater danger than just hot air
This is a post that I have held on writing for a long time. I have bitched about it, I have commiserated with people about it, but I have not actually put it in a public forum til now.
Why? Because I think these things should be talked about and dealt with by martial artists, especially those who claim to want to live a good life and teach a proper art and follow honorable people. And when one of your own steps out and does something so utterly stupid, unfathomable or indefensible, it must be brought to light. We need to police our own. We need to hold those above up to scrutiny as much as we hold them up for respect. No pedestals deserve they. Sensei are human. Masters are mortal. We all make mistakes, but when do those mistakes cross a line?
It is simple, really. When you are willing to talk the talk but not walk the walk, your shit must be called. You must be held accountable and be made to pay for your transgressions in one way or another. Now, depending on how far your reach on the scale of wrong, there should be opportunities to make right your errors.
I am not a real popular person in my association, I would guess, because I dared call out one of my own. It is not an easy thing to do, but given the lessons I have learned on and off the floor, I felt it was the right thing to do. A few feelings were hurt, a few noses put out of joint. Now, emails are not returned by some people who I considered to be friends. And others, well, the reception is more business than friendly.
So be it. It is the price perhaps one has to pay to hold people to the measure of their actions and responsibilities. I'd do it again... and if I stepped in the shyte, I would want someone to slap me into place.
So, OK, what am I talking about here? Well, the list is too long to count... allow me to first identify what a kuchi bushi is, and perhaps you will see where this is going. Kuchi bushi translates as 'mouth warrior'. We all know a few, but the level of their 'skill' will vary from one to the other. They can perhaps be known for their name dropping or their listing of the 'famous' people they have trained with, be it for a day or a year. They can claim lineages and profess loyalty to their seniors and yet run counter to ideals their seniors teach them, all while building their own 'profile.' Perhaps they use their powerful mouth skills to charm their way into power or sway people into following them, a cult of personality as it were. They perhaps use whatever skills they possess to build martial empires as a means to develop power, prestige and money.
Or perhaps they prey on their own students and commit atrocities so unspeakable that they deserve the scorn they merit. A while back, I read an article about a karate instructor who, imminently facing charges of molesting young students, committed suicide. I was not so naive to think that these types of scum could not be in the karate world, especially the sport karate world. But, that the incidents would continue to manifest themselves and that more examples would show their sick faces real starts to bother me.
This one happened in Ontario, Canada. Another is down south. One scumbag tried to actually appeal his conviction; thankfully he lost. Then again, another famous karate-ka, one who wrote a book on Shotokan karate, recently admitted guilt for his actions. This is a well-known figure in the traditional karate world- one who is revered. He also has many friends in the traditional karate world, yet no one seems to mention it or talk about it. They shut up like it never happened.
These men built their students up, likely fed them crap about the power of their art and becoming a good person... and then to do what? Destroy them? Abuse them? Ruin their lives? Worse yet. They gave karate a black eye. Of course, sadly, one of them is actually more a TKD guy than a karate guy.
No, we as karate folk have a tendency to sweep it under the rug rather than deal with it. Over a year ago, Michael Clarke posted an article about the elephant in the room. Not only do we ignore the elephant (regardless of its colour or stench), we sometimes pretend the elephant never existed...or that we ever had any connection to the elephant.
Classic example? This man used to be part of an organization that was run by this gentleman's father. When it was discovered that both father and son had a hand in nefarious deeds, the organization fell apart like a cheap suit. Including the affiliation that the man above used to tout; it's gone from his website, but the Internet has a long memory. At one point, he also used to claim he was a ninja master, likely based on this relationship.
Now, I do not mean to pick on this man. And nothing I have said here is defamatory, it is there to see. And to question. But, it is one example of how we simply make issues disappear rather than deal with them or be open about them.
Thus, I have a lot of distrust and distaste for these types of people. They fool a lot of folk by appearing to be good and righteous and moral. Yet, underneath, something is outta whack. I am not saying that you look at your sensei with an eye of suspicion and distrust. I am saying treat them as you would any other person - respect them for the lessons they teach you and the skill they impart to you. Have faith in us, but never let that faith be blind. Do not put us on pedestals. Do not hold us in reverence. Do not adorn us. We are infallible. And yes, some of us are downright not nice people.
Thus, kuchi bushi were perhaps always destined to fulfill the role. Our job, as instructors and yudansha alike, is to hold them accountable for their errors as they relate to their karate life. Be it placing them on probation, in conventry or hanging them out to dry for people to learn and know their true, real character. Yes, indeed: if you will talk the walk, we will hold your feet to the fire. Or, if necessary, subject you to shame and scorn.
I leave you with a snippet of a conversation I had with a karate acquaintance a few weeks back. She mentioned about a couple of sensei she knew and admired, but she lamented that as yudansha and dojo directors, perhaps others saw these people differently, or as they truly were. I said nothing, but I had to agree with her words.
It led me to think about two quotes; the second is one that we perhaps forget all too often:
- The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
- Karate does not develop your true character, it reveals it.
Truer words never spoken.
Why? Because I think these things should be talked about and dealt with by martial artists, especially those who claim to want to live a good life and teach a proper art and follow honorable people. And when one of your own steps out and does something so utterly stupid, unfathomable or indefensible, it must be brought to light. We need to police our own. We need to hold those above up to scrutiny as much as we hold them up for respect. No pedestals deserve they. Sensei are human. Masters are mortal. We all make mistakes, but when do those mistakes cross a line?
It is simple, really. When you are willing to talk the talk but not walk the walk, your shit must be called. You must be held accountable and be made to pay for your transgressions in one way or another. Now, depending on how far your reach on the scale of wrong, there should be opportunities to make right your errors.
I am not a real popular person in my association, I would guess, because I dared call out one of my own. It is not an easy thing to do, but given the lessons I have learned on and off the floor, I felt it was the right thing to do. A few feelings were hurt, a few noses put out of joint. Now, emails are not returned by some people who I considered to be friends. And others, well, the reception is more business than friendly.
So be it. It is the price perhaps one has to pay to hold people to the measure of their actions and responsibilities. I'd do it again... and if I stepped in the shyte, I would want someone to slap me into place.
So, OK, what am I talking about here? Well, the list is too long to count... allow me to first identify what a kuchi bushi is, and perhaps you will see where this is going. Kuchi bushi translates as 'mouth warrior'. We all know a few, but the level of their 'skill' will vary from one to the other. They can perhaps be known for their name dropping or their listing of the 'famous' people they have trained with, be it for a day or a year. They can claim lineages and profess loyalty to their seniors and yet run counter to ideals their seniors teach them, all while building their own 'profile.' Perhaps they use their powerful mouth skills to charm their way into power or sway people into following them, a cult of personality as it were. They perhaps use whatever skills they possess to build martial empires as a means to develop power, prestige and money.
Or perhaps they prey on their own students and commit atrocities so unspeakable that they deserve the scorn they merit. A while back, I read an article about a karate instructor who, imminently facing charges of molesting young students, committed suicide. I was not so naive to think that these types of scum could not be in the karate world, especially the sport karate world. But, that the incidents would continue to manifest themselves and that more examples would show their sick faces real starts to bother me.
This one happened in Ontario, Canada. Another is down south. One scumbag tried to actually appeal his conviction; thankfully he lost. Then again, another famous karate-ka, one who wrote a book on Shotokan karate, recently admitted guilt for his actions. This is a well-known figure in the traditional karate world- one who is revered. He also has many friends in the traditional karate world, yet no one seems to mention it or talk about it. They shut up like it never happened.
These men built their students up, likely fed them crap about the power of their art and becoming a good person... and then to do what? Destroy them? Abuse them? Ruin their lives? Worse yet. They gave karate a black eye. Of course, sadly, one of them is actually more a TKD guy than a karate guy.
No, we as karate folk have a tendency to sweep it under the rug rather than deal with it. Over a year ago, Michael Clarke posted an article about the elephant in the room. Not only do we ignore the elephant (regardless of its colour or stench), we sometimes pretend the elephant never existed...or that we ever had any connection to the elephant.
Classic example? This man used to be part of an organization that was run by this gentleman's father. When it was discovered that both father and son had a hand in nefarious deeds, the organization fell apart like a cheap suit. Including the affiliation that the man above used to tout; it's gone from his website, but the Internet has a long memory. At one point, he also used to claim he was a ninja master, likely based on this relationship.
Now, I do not mean to pick on this man. And nothing I have said here is defamatory, it is there to see. And to question. But, it is one example of how we simply make issues disappear rather than deal with them or be open about them.
Thus, I have a lot of distrust and distaste for these types of people. They fool a lot of folk by appearing to be good and righteous and moral. Yet, underneath, something is outta whack. I am not saying that you look at your sensei with an eye of suspicion and distrust. I am saying treat them as you would any other person - respect them for the lessons they teach you and the skill they impart to you. Have faith in us, but never let that faith be blind. Do not put us on pedestals. Do not hold us in reverence. Do not adorn us. We are infallible. And yes, some of us are downright not nice people.
Thus, kuchi bushi were perhaps always destined to fulfill the role. Our job, as instructors and yudansha alike, is to hold them accountable for their errors as they relate to their karate life. Be it placing them on probation, in conventry or hanging them out to dry for people to learn and know their true, real character. Yes, indeed: if you will talk the walk, we will hold your feet to the fire. Or, if necessary, subject you to shame and scorn.
I leave you with a snippet of a conversation I had with a karate acquaintance a few weeks back. She mentioned about a couple of sensei she knew and admired, but she lamented that as yudansha and dojo directors, perhaps others saw these people differently, or as they truly were. I said nothing, but I had to agree with her words.
It led me to think about two quotes; the second is one that we perhaps forget all too often:
- The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
- Karate does not develop your true character, it reveals it.
Truer words never spoken.
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