According to Wikipedia, deshi
(弟子) means either “pupil;
apprentice” or “disciple” (弟子, 2010) . Further research on
Wikipedia reveals two types of deshi,
the uchideshi and the sotodeshi (Uchi-deshi, 2012) . An uchideshi “usually live[s] in the dojo”
and “serves the teacher all day, every day.” A sotodeshi is a student who lives outside the dojo.
Looking at those Definitions
The first definition, that of being a pupil or apprentice,
is much more in line with a standard western philosophy of a student-teacher relationship.
Most westerners can accept being a pupil, after all, they’ve grown up with
being a pupil through their formal education. Apprenticeships, and those who
have been apprentices, are harder to find than ever before. The Star Wars fans
out there might find it interesting to note that the Master-Apprentice
relationship, especially the Padawan concept, of the Jedi and Sith orders are
much more akin to this definition of apprenticeship than the one normally
associated by non-Star Wars fans.
Disciple is a touchy subject for Christians. Christians look
at Jesus of Nazareth’s closest followers as his disciples doing his work for
his purposes. Confusion abounds when the religious cannot separate this connotation
of disciple from the definition, again provided by Wikipedia, of “[a] person
who learns from another, especially one who then teaches others” (Disicple, 2012) . I prefer to leave
my religious views at the door and adhere to the literal definition of disciple
rather than the Judeo-Christian connotation for these purposes.
How I Look at the Deshi Concept
The average student
will never become deshi. There really
is no reason to have a bunch of these apprentices nor could a single sensei do justice to the training of a
lot of deshi. With that said, deshi are essential to the continuation of
a school. Without deshi a school
fades and withers when the founder departs for whatever reason. Deshi are the continuous consciousness
of the dojo remembering and passing
on the culture developed.
Cultivating deshi
from a promising batch of students is impossible, in my opinion. Through the dojo’s doors will pass many, many
students. Some will be premiere athletes thriving in any competitive or
athletic task. Others will thrive on learning their techniques or self-defense.
Some may learn how to teach and pass techniques to the newer students with
exceptional transference skills.
Unfortunately, deshi
are not like any of these. Deshi
self-select. They may show little promise at any of the skills of the athlete,
the scholar, or the teacher. Instead of promise they show a constant drive,
desire, and dedication to not just the art but the sensei. That drive, desire, and dedication to the sensei is not a cult of personality, but
a steadfast belief in what the sensei
offers. The deshi follows not because
the sensei leads, but because the
guides.
Deshi have a most
unpalatable road. Through their learning they will undergo many arduous
challenges. Some of those challenges may cause the athlete nary a moment of
concern but strike fear into the deshi
but the deshi continues. While the
technician learns the outward form of a technique, the deshi becomes one with the technique through time. Where the
teacher demonstrates, the deshi embodies.
The athlete, technician, and teacher are all separate but the deshi becomes all of these and more.
Over time a deshi
will become the embodiment of the dojo
or perhaps take on the task of growing a branch of the original dojo. Unfortunately, for the sensei, finding the deshi is a task that, like everything else in martial arts,
requires patience, care, and understanding.
What do you think?
These are definitely not judo-as-sport beliefs. Keeping that
in mind, what do you think about the usefulness of deshi?
Bibliography
弟子. (2010, November 2). Retrieved May 29, 2012, from
Wikipedia: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/弟子
Disicple.
(2012, January 12). Retrieved May 29, 2012, from Wikipedia:
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disciple
Uchi-deshi.
(2012, April 9). Retrieved May 29, 2012, from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uchi-deshi
Augé, P. (n.d.). Becoming an Uchideshi, or How to
Train Seriously in Japan. Retrieved May 29, 2012, from Aikido Journal:
http://www.aikidojournal.com/article?articleID=1
Reafsnyder, L. (n.d.). Deshi. Retrieved May
29, 2012, from Koryu Budo — the Online Journal of the Itten Dojo:
http://www.ittendojo.org/articles/phil-5.htm
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