Loyalties

I was asked once many years ago where, as a student, my loyalties lay. Were they with the highest ranks of the school or were they with my instructor (the head of the school). I was part of a group of students that had attended a special class that day, and one by one, down the line each one of us was asked this same question. It should be noted that the person asking the question was one of the highest ranking students in the school.

One by one I heard my contemporaries say that their loyalties lay with the highest ranks of the school, of course. When my turn came, I gave the opposite answer, that my loyalties lay with my instructor.

I gave that answer not because I do not trust or value my fellow dojo mates. I gave that answer because for me, if I gauge my actions based on what I believe my Sensei would want and deem correct -- then what to do and the path to take -- is much more simple and clear.

Does my Sensei trust his highest ranks? Yes, so therefore I trust them. Does my Sensei want me to support the concept of a unified dojo? Yes, therefore I support it. For me, having my loyalties lay with my Sensei gives me a framework for how to understand and react to things that go on around the dojo. In this way I hope to be a worthwhile student.