Things have changed over the years. When I began my training in traditional martial arts, some of the instructors were mean. They went out of their way to inflict pain on you, many of them made you feel useless, being unable to grasp a technique or kata. They ordered and shouted at you like military drill instructors, and they made it clear that they were superior to you in every way.
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Back then it didn’t matter if students left the dojo, there were plenty more waiting to join. The martial arts, all martial arts, were thriving and enjoying unprecedented popularity.
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As a kid, I was “corrected” on occasion by a sensei wielding a “shinai”. Never struck me hard enough to cause any real damage, but it smarted, and boy did you ever pay attention any time thereafter when you saw him walking around with it. I thought this was the norm.
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There are those who still use this method of correction today. Are they wrong?
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Society today tells us that yes, they are wrong. It is absolutely irresponsible to hit a student with malice. Be fair to them, and train them at their level of capability, physical punishment as discipline is ABSOLUTELY WRONG, and counterproductive, in ANY circumstance.
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There are some who see martial arts training as a military exercise, and shout commands as if they are a drill instructor…… NO. This is not the military.
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How do you judge if a martial arts teacher is any good?
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Skilled instructors are at the heart of any martial arts school.
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The attitude of an instructor should not be that of a disciplinarian, or a military drill instructor, but one of humility, understanding, and helpfulness. They should make training fun, easy, safe and effective. This is training for the student’s long term health and longevity after-all.
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An instructor should not show-off trying to show that they are better than you. They are NOT. They may have a greater martial arts knowledge and experience than you, but they are human beings, as we all are, and should respect each other as the same. It’s in the precepts of most “Dojo Kun”;….. respect others.
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An instructor’s job is to help you learn in a way that you can understand while being patient and kind doing so. They should also learn while teaching, as teaching is learning. Be serious, enjoy your training and keep improving.
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Karate is an art of self-control, over mind and body. As an authority figure, an instructor, a teacher, has no right to physically punish you. If you use punishment to correct teaching and learning, then you are a failure as a teacher. Instead of finding an intelligent way to correct your teaching, you chose to be angered, and in the 21st century, that kind of discipline isn’t acceptable (if it ever was). What we consider moral and ethical has moved on beyond physical discipline, no matter what your age. 
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