Excommunication
from a dojo or apprenticeship;
to
force a door open; spurned; shunned; renounced.
Expulsion;
delisting; exclusion;
remove
from official registers; to be banished.
The above two phrases seem similar, but Hamon
is more severe than Jomei:
- Jomei is when a member is asked to leave a
school, club, etc. The member is no
longer part of that organization.
- The English equivalent of Hamon is
excommunication. Not only is the
individual forced out of an organization, but all rank, teaching credentials,
and any other certificates are revoked.
Of course, the former member still has
knowledge and skills, and may still hold the physical belt and
certificates, but anyone inquiring about this former member would be told of
the indiscretion causing hamon and that all rank and certificates are invalid.
Jomei and Hamon are not the end of the world
for the former member. Life goes
on. It’s similar to a divorce, or being
fired from a job. The organization wants
nothing to do with the former member, and probably should not be listed on a
résumé or used for references.
Four quick points:
- Nikita Khrushchev led the Soviet Union
during the height of the Cold War, serving as Premier from 1958-1964. He was deposed as Premier and declared an ‘unperson’
in October 1964, completely disappearing from public life.
-
In international diplomacy, ‘persona
non grata’ (Latin for: person not appreciated) is a foreign
person whose entering or remaining in a particular country is prohibited by
that host country's government because of something the person has said or
done. A fancy diplomatic term for “Get
outta heeere”.
- Joe Paterno, head football coach for Penn
State University (1966-2011), was the winningest coach in collegiate
history. After the 2011 Jerry Sandusky
sex scandal, Paterno was fired, all wins from 1998 to 2011 (112 in total) were
wiped off the record books, and his statue was removed from the football stadium.
- On rare occasion Shihan Mike Hatgis posted
a notice on the bulletin board saying that some member is stripped of rank and
no longer with Black Belt Academy. I
recall one incident where a Sho Dan decided to open up his own dojo in the next
town over. The Sho Dan put an ad in a
local Pennysaver, which Shihan Hatgis happened to publish. The poor unwitting Sho Dan was immediately
disowned and tossed out of the dojo.
Why is this article relevant? Must you ‘walk on eggshells’ for fear of
being thrown out the door? No. We’ve had some situations in the dojo which
were handled without rising to Hamon or Jomei.
This article simply serves to remind you that Karate culture is driven
by honor, respect, self-control, following rules, and doing what is proper.
