What qualities do you think a Master should have??

1)Mastery of the curriculum.
and the ability to demonstrate the techniques

2)The ability to communicate the material to others in a understandable way.

3)Ability to inspire students

4) Be able to command respect as opposed to demanding respect

5)Good Moral character, a Master should be a person with good moral character,ie,no drug addict/alcoholic/ no police record, good standing in the community,

What else do you think can be added???

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

Hmmm, you ask a question that I have thought about often and particularly after I read it this morning. The "should have" makes it easier to answer, in that I can build the perfect master by picking all the qualities I think he or she "should" have, though perhaps no one exists that have all the qualities I think they should. However, instead I will leave you with a trait that you did not list that I have found in the few "Masters" I have been lucky enough to meet or have known.

A Genuine Love for What they have Mastered.

Jamie

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

Thats a good one, "Genuine love of what they have mastered"

OK thats a great trait. I have more to add to the list, but I want to hear what others have to add, Any Gups out there? what do you want a Master to be like??

I'll add one more quality to the list,

Sportsmanship,
A master or master candidate for that matter should not be a poor sport. I f you or your students are in a competition, things don't always go your way, you should be able to comport yourself with dignity, honor, and self restraint, lead by example. If you don't get the call you want or the score isn't what you expect, don't be an embarrassment to your organization, except the judgement handed you with the same respect as you would if you got the call you or your student think is deserved. If you go spouting off obscene comments, argue with the Judges, rip off your helmet and kick /throw it across the room, If you scream at your students for doing poorly berate them in front of everyone, you are not setting a good example of what a master should be, you embarrass yourself, your own instructer, and your organization/club. This type of person should not make it to master, as this behavior is only an indicator of much more serious personal problems that may surface in the future. I know we have all seen this type of person at tournaments or even seminars, it just makes you shake your head.


Ok thats 7 so far, what other qualities do we want for the Perfect Master???

1)Mastery of the curriculum.
and the ability to demonstrate the techniques

2)The ability to communicate the material to others in a understandable way.

3)Ability to inspire students

4) Be able to command respect as opposed to demanding respect

5)Good Moral character, a Master should be a person with good moral character,ie,no drug addict/alcoholic/ no police record, good standing in the community,

6) A Genuine love of the art they have Mastered.

7) Sportsmanship

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

Why no police record? Do you not believe the Martial Arts can be an instrumnet of change? Just curious.

Tang Soo

Mike

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

Yes,I do believe, however, I do not think a Master instructer should be a covicted felon,I think a case can be made for say a guy who was convicted of a crime once upon a time, and is since rehabed, but I mean more the repeat offenders,with a second home in jail, or someone convicted of violent assault,robbery, the wife beaters,sex offenders, etc,time served or not they do not deserve the rank.

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

Bernard, What about theft and fraud. Remember, we are talking about people who will be running schools. MA has a long history of shysters who take advantage of an unknowing public then bail and run out of town. Should these misdemeanors and felons also be given such rank? And if so...what does this say about the standards of the organization that issues this rank?

Questions that should be asked...and pondered.

JH

Ahh, you L.E.O. guys, I did put etc.. on the end ya know,

Any repeat offender, who has shown a history of breaking the law, should not be allowed the rank of master, period, know if the person has been rehabed and has not ever gone back to his old ways, that could be done on a person by person basis, I hope I didn't miss any other crimes ?

b

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

what about shysters that take shortcuts to obtain their rank? wouldn't these people be frauds also? when a new prospective student comes to your class because you claim a high black belt that someone mailed you isn't that a form of fraud?
i read on another board where a person with a criminal background was awarded a 6 degree black belt for starting some unknown art. his instructor should be ashamed of himself for turning out such a fraudulent person. I bet if you look closely the instructor also will be someone that has taken every shortcut they can to get rank. students copy their instructors and for that reason your suggestions for an instructor are pretty good but I would include the above shysters also they will damage the students and the art.
Mister Bernard are you suggesting government control over instructors? wouldn't there have to be control over how a person got their rank to be an instructor also?
Billy

Government control is definitely not the answer. Suppose one organization such as the ATA became the standard or what the government recognized. They would have to lock me up for breaking the law, because under those circumstances I would fear non-ATA and non-Tae Kwon Do schools might not be recognized.

However with that said, fraud is fraud and the government should continue to represent the people and put those committing fraud in jail. IE someone claiming to have such and such experience to dupe students when they do not possess this. IE should I claim I was trained by Bruce Lee in 1965 (I was born in 1972) AND I used this to get students, I should be criminally prosecuted.

In the end however, it is up to people's good sense to check their instructors out. Legitimate instructors have nothing to hide.

Jamie

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

Actually Bernard the more I thought about it, the instructor issuing the rank of master should probably know if the x-con is rhabbed or not, after all it takes a couple of years to make Master, most times...

Mike

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

Humility.

Not false humility, just a true sense of who and what they are. I guess a better description is no extreme arrogrance or self exultation.

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

It seems that some people believe that if an ex-convict has rehabilitated himself it is ok for him to be an instructor. Remember Instructors teach children and are supposed to be a role model for all students.

I ask this question about this topic, do you think that if you applied for a security clearance after being convicted that you’d receive one? No matter how many years and rehabilitation what agency would grant such a clearance?

Wouldn’t the same reasoning be applied to an instructor and even more so for a Master Instructor?

Just asking,

Billy

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

Actaully you can be given a security cleance if you were not convicted of a felony, although I would doubt you could get one to work at the CIA or DOJ, but I am kind of partial to second chances, I do not remeber Master Giacobbe asking me if I have ever been convicted of a crime. On the other hand I would be reluctant to let a sex offender instruct children or adults.

Mike

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

I think as a general rule, convict? no Master rank. That can be overruled by the testing board, maybe during a review board type scenario. In the case of Kiddy Diddlers, No Master rank period, and if it were my school, no training period.

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

Maybe we could use the sexual predators for full contact sparring practice

mike

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

Hi Jamie,

I think you hit the nail on the head there. I was hooked almost 10 years ago and I just can't, nay don't want, let go !!!
Tha 'Tang' bug is a high. It has to be in your heart, body and soul to find mastership. It matures inside of you because you are never sated.
I found the books by Mas Ho Sik Pak soooo inspiring, the information there has given me a second spring-board to my quest for mastership.

Kyosa Mo Lawson

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do

Bernard,
You have raised a good question here…

What I look for in a Master, above everything else in sincerity, and a true love for the ART.

In martial arts today, we have far to many people that call them selves MASTER because they have been able to develop a school with a large number of bodies on their floor, paying them a lot of money to train. Just because a person is a good business person, and a good salesman doesn’t make him/her a Master.

A deep understanding of the art that they teach, that has been honed over decades, not a couple of years is necessary to achieve a level of knowledge and understanding that can be deemed “Masterful”.

Just because a practitioner can demonstrate technique doesn’t mean that he/she can teach it. Just because he/she can teach it to those with natural talent doesn’t mean that he/she can teach it to anyone, regardless of their individual levels of intellect, understanding and ability.

I believe that a “True Master” has to have the ability to read a student, assess their levels of intellect, understanding and ability and develop a program of teaching that will benefit each individual in their class. We have all been to classes that have a select group of naturals and those that seem to just be there. They don’t understand what they are doing, and the instructor never gets around to working with them. This is (to me) un-acceptable. A Master has to be able top work with EVERY student on his/her floor, and devise a way of teaching that guides every student to the successful accomplishment of their goals.

The students may not all achieve their goals at the same time, but as long as each student is progressing in an acceptable fashion, then we can say that the instructor is on the right path.

In every organization the curriculum is different to some degree. If we go strictly on curriculum, then someone that is considered a Master in one organization might not be qualified in one organization and over qualified in another. I think that there are some general qualities that cross the lines of all organizations:
1) Character:
a. How does this person interact with others?
b. Does this person know how to delegate authority on the training floor, and off of the floor as well?
c. When asked a question that they truly don’t know the answer to, will they fudge an answer in hopes of not looking bad or be honest and say something like; that’s a good question, I’ll have to research it and get back to you.
2) Ability:
a. Does this person truly know and understand how to perform the techniques being taught?
b. Can they articulate the instructions on a level that all will understand?
c. Can they read the room to determine who is lost, and needs additional help?
d. If they determine that someone is lost and needs additional help, can they and will they do what is necessary to help that person get it together?
3) Ability to follow through:
a. When this person commits to teach an individual or group, and finds that there may be issues to deal with, will they follow through or take the easy way out by moving on?
b. Will they commit additional time to an individual or group that needs the additional help to make it over a sticking-hump, or say; I’m not getting paid to do that.

When you take on the responsibility of being a MASTER, it’s just like being a parent in many ways. If the baby needs to be fed a 3:00am, guess who has to be available…

Master’s ranking means that you are a Master Instructor. If you are not teaching there is no point in receiving Master’s ranking. If you are going to take on the responsibility of being a Master, you must always be there for your students, be committed to doing what ever is necessary to guide your student(s) in the correct way, both on and off of the floor.

I was promoted to 4th Dan in February, 1988. I didn’t think that I was ready at the time that Chung Il Kim, KJN promoted me. One of my seniors, Wilton Bennett said this; if Kim, KJN puts the rank on you, he sees something in you that you don’t. If you don’t feel worthy, do what ever it’s going to take to get there because the responsibility that comes with the rank is no joke.

Looking back, I can say this; I walk on to a training floor, mine or someone else’s, and I start assessing the participants. I make my determinations and get to the business of teaching in a fashion that will leave EVERY participant hungry for more. I pay extreme attention to each and every set of eyes in the room to be sure that I never loose anyone. I determine the strengths and weaknesses of everyone present and delegate assistant instructors when necessary. My ONLY concern at the end or every class is that every student is closer to their goals then they were when they walked in. If I have accomplished these goals, I am happy.

Being a MASTER is a very heavy responsibility, but it is a way of life that I love, and will never walk away from.

Your thoughts….

(In my mind, this is just a start. We can go on for a long, long time on this subject. We have only scratched the surface…)

Martial Art Style Tang Soo Do