Letting others train in your dojo.

 

My school was not a commercial school. I neither encouraged or discouraged anyone to train with us.

However, from time to time others with prior training,

Isshinryu and other styles would approach me to train with us.

 

After all, many extremely skilled instructors, allowed me to train in their schools. But at the same time, none of them sought me to share with their students.   Ever!

 

I learned from that, their house, their rules, my house, my rules.

 

The nature of my adult classes always followed the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, where no class was ever a repetition of another class. By design each class was a unique experience, to keep everyone, myself included, on our toes.

 

When a visiting senior dropped by to see about training, I always made sure that class was unique, something structured in a way they likely had never seen in a class before.

 

I always suggested they start their own program, being something they would be more comfortable with the training. But I neither discouraged them, it was always their choice.

 

I was not in the business of evaluating others words, and treated all with respect. In any case time would show how true their words were.

 

I did make it clear, what they would be doing is participating in our program.

Regardless of the rank or skill, they would be studying our program from the ground up. There were never any exceptions to that.

 

That I expected to continue their prior studies, on their own, they should not disregard their own experiences.

 

I would explain in one years they would start to understand the methods behind our training would take at least a year to understand the cycles I was using.  And then a year later, I would ask them if I was right in what I told them.

 

Their years and experience was their own, and they would be asked to teach, but first they had to have 15 continuous years with us to do so. No difference in our requirements.

 

Not unreasonable as they would need to understand in detail what our program was doing.

 

If they joined and time passed and we learned their nature, that rule would also come under the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and changes might occur.

 

It is a most interesting time when we mingle our gifts.