Reflections of a Sensei

This incident occurred many years ago. I was reminded of it recently in an email exchange with Shihan 'Grandfather' Wayne Wickizer. It's worth retelling here:

We’re fortunate to have mirrors lining almost an entire wall of our dojo. This is invaluable for students to see exactly what they’re doing. I like to keep students on their toes, so will often make unusual analogies to get a point across. History has shown that the more bizarre the analogy, the more likely the student will remember it. Students have recounted things I’ve told them years ago almost word for word. I was reminded of the time I stood a young student in front of the mirror to repeatedly work a kick. I said, “Do you know what this is called?” He of course said, “A mirror.” I told him, “No, it’s called Sensei.” The student was completely confused, so I said, “A sensei can’t do the kick for you; he can watch what you’re doing and give you feedback. The mirror works the same way; it reflects what you’re doing so you can see your progress and what still needs work.” The student smirked, then worked diligently with the mirror. At the end of the workout, the student said to the mirror, “Arigato gozai mashita, Sensei” and bowed. He then said to me, “Hey, just like a real sensei when I bowed to the mirror, the image bowed back to me!” I love it.