GKR is bigger than any one person

GKR karate is bigger than any one person, no matter what his grade

At a recent grading sensei Joe Estrada said to everyone, “You have to trust your sensei, and me. If you don’t trust me, then you might as well just quit now.” He was talking about trusting his decision-making process at the grading, and about his advice to those people training under him.

There is wisdom in what he said, but there is also a paradox.

As I commented to sensei Jason Smith recently, the value of lessons he taught me seven years ago, is only just starting to become fully apparent to me. Things that I understood back then as simple movement drills, or even as clever kumite footwork, reveal themselves now to be brilliant, multi-layered strategies that demonstrate appreciation for the physiology of the opponent’s movements and his combat psychology. Thus, if I had dismissed those drills after a few years as being “beneath me”, I would have lost out on the benefits that only now I am developing a greater appreciation for.

Karate is full of lessons that may appear counter-intuitive, or simplistic, yet which later turn out to be much deeper. It would be very unwise from a position of relative ignorance, to decide to ignore certain lessons. Of course, instructors only gain the right to be listened to by being respected, and that comes when you prove yourself to be respect-worthy… Respect is earned by making sense in the little things. If I want you to believe me when I tell you to do something big or new, I need to have proven myself in the little things. I also need to demonstrate that I care about your well-being above all else.

However, here’s the paradox in sensei Joe’s words, regardless of how any person feels about him, he is just one person. No matter how high his grade, or how long he’s been around, he is not GKR. Nor even are Shihan or Kancho. Shihan may be the master of our style, and Kancho its founder, but GKR is bigger than either of them. I am certain that Kancho expects GKR to continue on and grow long after he’s shuffled off (with perfect footwork no doubt)  to that big dojo in the sky, and I’m sure if Shihan quit tomorrow, GKR would carry on almost as before. GKR is the organisation, and it’s the sum of its members. GKR is the concept, and the feeling of community that binds us all together as caring senseis, friends, students and family.

It’s something that the embittered wannabes looking on from the sidelines just don’t get. I hear self-proclaimed experts of other styles criticising GKR, but if they experienced one fraction of the loyalty and warmth and community that I feel within GKR, they’d be lucky people. So whether you personally like, or even respect sensei Joe, or me, or anyone else, is not the vital question. GKR has so many senseis for you to follow – just choose one you DO like or respect, and train with them. If you don’t respect your zone director, you don’t have to train with him. If you don’t respect your regional sensei, you rarely need to see him. Even if you don’t respect your class sensei, you can easily change dojos. It’s the club and the karate that’s important, not just the people who administer it.

Recently a very dearly loved junior black belt student of my region quit training because he felt that he was made to feel unwelcome by the regional manager. Whether or not his perception was accurate (and I think it was) is almost irrelevant. The regional manager is not GKR karate in Essex. This student trained in two other dojos, yet because of his relationship with the regional manager, he quit. Other karate ka in Essex lost a greatly valued student and role model, and the boy has gone from a place where he was very widely respected and loved. A lose, lose situation. Yes, there will be other black belt kids in Essex, and yes this boy will almost certainly go on to be appreciated elsewhere, but giving up relationships with others that he has built for seven years is a sad thing.

None of us senseis should, or can demand respect with threats or appeals. The only way is by behaving in a way that earns respect. But, at the same time, just remember that as a student YOU might not yet have the experience to understand the bigger picture, so try to be open about receiving knowledge and opinions that contradict your own beliefs, expectations and world-view.