Masters and Grand Masters
Masters are Masters of Ceremonies
Masters and Grand Masters must officiate over everything from student training and testing to State and International competitions. Therefore, it is important to know what is expected of a true Master of Ceremonies.
First: You must understand the meaning of the word “Ceremony.”
“Ceremony” is a formal presentation, rooted in custom, marking a special occasion. Masters need to think of every public situation as an event worthy of “Ceremony.” Why? Because you are an important figurehead. Especially now, when all people are starving for high Integrity leadership, you are at all times representing what the world sorely lacks.
From the moment you get up in the morning to the moment you retire at night, everything you do that anyone sees makes a monumental difference in the lives of those who are watching. You may not have asked for this celebrity, but with power comes grave responsibility. By the rank and position you hold you impact everyone who is in your presence, even briefly, or from afar.
Consequently, you must fine tune your observational skills towards self-scrutiny. Watch yourself closely. Is your posture erect? Are your eyes clear? Is your heart open? Is your mouth under your conscious restraint? Is your mind quiet? Are you ready to be who you are called to be? If not, go to a private place and collect yourself or find another job.
Second: You must understand the meaning of the word “Custom.”
As a Master of Ceremonies you need to understand the customs of the people around you, as well as your own Martial Arts customs. Customs are steeped in tradition. Consequently, it is equally important for you to know the traditions of your students and parents as it is for you to know your own.
For Masters and Grand Masters who live and teach away from their own homelands, it is critically important to study the customs of your students because your ability to teach, mentor and run a profitable business is dependent upon you understanding the subtlest of the traditions of your student, their parents and the surrounding community.
Never forget that you are first, foremost and always, a student yourself, and that your students have much to teach you about the way they think and see things differently than you. Hire one of your students to come in and tutor you frequently about their customs. Trade lessons with one or more of your more mature business-oriented students to teach you about good business practices. Doing so will make these students feel important and you will learn invaluable information that will impact everything you do.
Third: You must understand the meaning of the word “Presentation.”
Presentation is education. A true Master of Ceremonies is an educator in the finest sense of the word. You are always educating by example. What you model is what the people around you will learn. The first thing they will learn is whether or not you are a hypocrite. Do you honor your word? Or do you say one thing and do another? Never forget … follow through is the most important element of Integrity! Do not tell your students, “Next time we’ll practice flying side kicks,” if you can not hold yourself accountable to follow up and follow through on that comment, no matter how casually you meant it. Do not tell a parent that you will meet with them at 2:00pm and roll in at 2:20pm.
Because of who you are, a respected Master people emotionally invest themselves in your words. They count on you doing what you say you will do. “I forgot” Or “Sorry,” maybe received, but in the end, all that is remembered is the BROKEN PROMISE. If you are not going to hold yourself accountable for your own follow through, then at least learn how to not make promises, even casually, that you can not keep.
Masters and Grand Masters Remember: You are always on stage, and if it is an act, as opposed to your daily way of being, you have no business being on stage.