When a person starts training in my dojo, I tell them that they will not be considered to be a student until one year has passed. There are two reasons for this.
First, many people quit within the first year. If they are not yet a student, they will not have to feel badly. Students often carry regret for quite a while. I want to avoid imposing this regret on people who only train briefly.
From my perspective, I feel very attached to my students. This feeling lasts for a lifetime.
Sometimes, a person might want to be able to say that they trained with me. Everyone should know that only people who have trained with me for at least a year are considered to be students. Until then, they are more like guests.
Certainly, I would not promote anyone, regardless of their rank from any other sensei, until they have trained with me for at least one year, usually much longer.
Respectfully,
Charles C. Goodin
