Titles have meaning, but the person behind the title is more important….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"article":"As you start to look at martial arts related videos on social media, you will inevitably come across plenty of articles that talk about etiquette and \u201cold school\u201d rules.\u00a0 One common talking point that is widely discussed is titles of head instructors.\u00a0 In most every martial art, there are specific titles given to black belt instructors.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure where it started, but in Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu, black belt instructors are given the title \u201cProfessor\u201d, and I personally extend that title to any black belt instructor when I visit other gyms unless they correct me based on their own policies.\u00a0 It can be a fine line between simple policy and respect that a title represents, to an instructor developing a feeling of grandiosity.\u00a0 While I\u2019m comfortable with the Gracie Barra titles, I will say that I\u2019m not a huge fan of some of the other traditional martial arts titles like, Sifu, Sensei, and especially Master, as well as facility names like dojo.\u00a0 I suppose if I trained in those styles that use those titles, I would probably be more comfortable with them\u2026.except for Master.\r\n\r\nSo, where did the title \u201cProfessor\u201d come from?\u00a0 Quite simply, someone realized that it takes most people longer to get a BJJ black belt than it takes to get a PhD, and when people earn a PhD they are given the title of \u201cProfessor\u201d.\u00a0 Most every college professor I know with a PhD is still called Professor or Doctor.\u00a0 It is simply an acknowledgement of the level of knowledge they have achieved. \u00a0When it comes to martial arts, one of the arguments that is always used is that you don\u2019t call your football coach, or soccer coach, or wrestling coach, \u201cProfessor\u201d.\u00a0 No, but you DO call them coach.\u00a0 I STILL call my HS wrestling coaches \u201cCoach\u201d.\u00a0 So, there is still a demarcation there that is important.\u00a0 There is also an inherent focus difference in martial arts that is not in many traditional sports.\u00a0 Martial arts has a structure that is focused more on etiquette and respect than traditional sports.\u00a0 Most every parent that has brought their child into the gym mentions respect and discipline as priorities they are looking for.\u00a0 I don\u2019t ever remember my parents signing me up for soccer citing respect and discipline as one of their primary goals for me.\r\n\r\nFor those aspects to exist in a gym, it is critical, in my opinion, to have those titles and a traditional formality.\u00a0 If that is going to exist for one age group, it must exist for all age groups to maintain a consistent structure within the gym.\u00a0 Outside of the gym, I personally have a different take.\u00a0 Outside of the gym, I still think it is appropriate for kids to refer to head instrutors as Professor and other coaches as Coach.\u00a0 But when it comes to adult only social events, I am quite comfortable being called Greg, and actually prefer that.\u00a0 When Coach Graham was hired at Bosch into the same group I worked, it would have been very, very weird in that\u00a0 business setting to call me Professor.\r\n\r\nWhen I was in the Jaycees, every position had a title.\u00a0 Often times, those titles really went to peoples heads.\u00a0 It's very easy to see how that can happen in any setting.\u00a0 Titles carry a certain weight, especially President, CEO, Minister, etc, and those titles are earned through hard work and dedication.\u00a0 But those titles don't mean that those PEOPLE are better people than those with titles like employee,\u00a0 parishoner or constituent.\u00a0 Titles do not make you a better person. I believe more that they reveal who you already are.\u00a0 If you have feelings of grandiosity, a title is going to reinforce those feelings.\u00a0 If you are humble, those titles will be recieved with humility.\u00a0 I think it is good to show respect to the titles that people have earned, but what is more important is the character of the person who has those titles.","featured_image":"","featured_image_id":"","featured_article":""},"categories":[4],"class_list":["post-337","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","category-gb3-expert-jiu-jitsu"],"yoast_head":"\n