Читать книгу Traditions. Essays on the Japanese Martial Arts and Ways онлайн

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The sensei, most of them Japanese, cannot be blamed for this. From the moment they landed here to introduce the martial arts to the West, they have been treated like royalty. They were never questioned when appointing themselves head of each major budo organization, and since their students showed little inclination to do things on their own, the Japanese masters were quick to establish themselves as administrators, governing every facet of these organizations. One Caucasian karateman recalls how the national meetings of a prominent karate group were held back in the sixties. “We’d have an open table discussion with a lot of good, contrasting ideas presented by knowledgeable members, and we’d vote. It was all very democratic. Sensei would listen to it all, then he’d tell us what was going to be done.”

By analogy, imagine what would happen if a prima donna ballet dancer were to appear at a meeting of the board of directors of a dance company, telling them how the company’s funds were to be allocated, how they should conduct business, and so on. The prima donna might be a peerless dancer. Her performing and instructing are wonderful assets for the dance company. Yet no one assumes that she is automatically also a brilliant administrator. The same holds true for the martial arts masters. They are unbelievably, awesomely skilled; in terms of the budo they are a priceless source of information. We here in the West are most fortunate to have them teaching us. But to have them running national budo organizations where thousands of members and millions of dollars are involved, especially when some of those members are experts in financial and business management and have their skills go unused, is a waste. It allows for decisions to be made on the basis of old college rivalries back in Japan, on philosophical evaluations that do not enter into business interests, and on a whole system of management that’s more like that of a feudal ryu than a modern organization supposedly bent on improving and spreading a budo. Western martial artists should strive always to show respect for their sensei. They should see to it that the sensei is paid well, in accordance with his high position and profession. And they should have no qualms whatsoever about assuming control of their organizations in an equally professional way. In addition to being a big step in the maturation of the senior American budoka, this is quite probably the only course by which the martial Ways can survive and grow on a widespread basis in the West.