Last Updated on Saturday, 09 January 2010 18:45 Thursday, 02 December 2004 07:29

Families and structure are both crucial to the ongoing success of the organisation. We explore this here.

The concept of families in Zen Do Kai is perhaps the key ingredient that has built Zen Do Kai into the force that it is today. The family concept, linked to a traditional hierarchical structure has facilitated enormous growth in the Zen Do Kai style for over thirty years. The typical Zen Do Kai family generally consists of its family head (family founder - generally at black belt level), support black belts (generally who have risen under the family head's instruction), and the general ranks of coloured belts and white belt students. A common, but not prescriptive, average size of the typical ZDK family, is around thirty, which includes the family head, other black belts, and all other students. A Zen Do Kai family often manages several dojos which all fall under the control of its family head, but which may be operated by that family head's support black belts. Hence emerges a hierarchy in the family. This mini hierarchical system is mirrored in the wider Zen Do Kai family.

Remembering its beginnings, Zen Do Kai was formed with one teacher, Soke Bob Jones, and one dojo (Honbu), and a small band of students. In time, new black belts emerged from the Honbu. Soke sent them out to establish new dojos, all over Australia (and not long after - New Zealand). These were Zen Do Kai's first generation warriors and the Honbu housed Soke's first generation family. So the new dojos established by the new black belts spawned the next generation of families. From these families, more new black belts would emerge, some would establish new dojos within their existing family and others would move on to a new location and establish a brand new family of their own with a brand new dojo. And so the cycle would continue. This concept, in essence, is one of the main reasons for Zen Do Kai's successful expansion and popularity. All families can be traced back through the Zen Do Kai family tree to Honbu, the seed that grew the oak.

The chalk board diagram to the right was used by Soke back in 1983 to explain to his black belt instructors and teachers, the movement necessary to maintain Zen Do Kai's growth and therefore its existence. In essence, it depicts the necessity for instructors and teachers to move constantly back and forth from their own dojos to the Honbu to train, gaining more knowledge and thus advancing and growing. This new found knowledge could then be pumped back into their own dojos ensuring their own students sustain interest and build on their understanding. Soke wrote that this bond between the Honbu and the Zen Do Kai families is the cycle which makes Zen Do Kai the force that it is.

The diagram is designed to show that all paths lead back to the Zen Do Kai Honbu. The spiral paths represent the movement's of hierarchy's and Daimios; Soke called this "the flowing force." Zen Do Kai has grown and spread substantially since 1983 so today it is common for instructors and teachers to train with Zen Do Kai state or district heads whenever possible to gain more knowledge to feed back to their own dojos. State and district heads still regularly train and liaise with Soke personally. This is directly in line with Soke's original model.

"The heart's task is to pump blood to every part of the body. For the blood to carry out all its various tasks, it has to circulate around the body, powered by the heart."

Soke states that any successful institution whether it be government, corporate or even religion, works on the principle of a very strong and tight chain of command. The hierarchical structure in Zen Do Kai comes from the discipline of the Samurai and the code of Budo. In fact, Soke's main influence in establishing his hierarchy was Myamoto Musashi's 'Book of Five Rings', which espouses, among other things, the benefits of a hierarchical system. So, what is a good Zen Do Kai family?

In 1984, in an article in 'Martial Arts Energy' magazine (a publication of the Bob Jones Corporation at the time), Soke wrote that, "a good Zen Do Kai family is made up of people who understand what their options are and who choose to stay and work together under a strong head who offers the services and inspiration necessary." He also wrote that, "a good family head always listens to advice and seeks it out when necessary...the family head must bear the brunt of a good or bad decision; only he or she must answer to Kyoshi thus he or she must make the final decisions on the matters affecting standards, management and the objectives of his or her family."

With a successful hierarchical structure and massive expansion at a prolific rate it wasn't too long before varied viewpoints would be challenged within the hierarchy. The anecdotes and magazine articles of the seventies and eighties reveal some quite heated debate and opinion on issues ranging from martial arts technique to dojo management. This was inevitable (as it is in all organisations) and Soke Bob Jones, employing the teachings of Musashi (Book of Five Rings), Sun Tsu (The Art of War), the Senjo Philosophy and even modern psychology , was well prepared for it. Soke even published an enlightening article in an 'Energy' magazine in 1988 titled 'Organisational Politics'. This extensive article was significant because it summarised succinctly all the key messages that were needed to enhance understanding and interaction throughout the organisation. Such key messages still apply today and their acknowledgement is essential to the success and health of every Zen Do Kai family. We have attempted to summarise these messages here.

The best adjusted and most successful black belts, politically, are those for whom power is a high, but not the highest priority. These people are assertive and competitive, but not abrasive. They are not shy about contesting their ideas or contesting others, but they usually operate in an above board and honest manner. There are two other significant types of individual. There is the aggressive, domineering and even intimidating, whilst at the other end of the scale, there is the passive, mild mannered and sometimes submissive. The way in which the three described types react in the organisation, determines the amount and nature of politics that is 'played'. Which of the three types you actually are, or would like to be, depends on how you view yourself in Senjo.

The Zen Do Kai family pyramid, sometimes referred to as the "pecking order" is the most pervasive and dominant element within Zen Do Kai. Productive work depends on organisational hierarchies and organisational hierarchies depend on power politics. Whilst this may be distasteful to some, it remains a fact.

One of the most common characteristics of organisational behaviour in Zen Do Kai is that when differences of opinion emerge between the Family Heads and lower ranks, the Family Head will probably prevail. This has nothing to do with who is 'right' or 'wrong' in a moral sense. If the lower rank cannot persuade the Family Head to his point of view, his or her best course of action is to drop the issue. How a person actually behaves in such situations indicates whether they are passive (blue), assertive (yellow) or aggressive (red), in relation to organisational power.

Honest courtesy reinforces a student's self esteem by making him or her feel able and worthy. Generally, black belts who are comfortable with power and who are largely respected and looked up to are naturally courteous. These people usually derive greater enjoyment from their personal relationships than those who exercise submissiveness or dominance.

A Family Head must be in command. He must clearly be the person in the pecking order who can 'peck' anyone else when he needs to and who is immune to pecking from the lower ranks. A leader who cannot do this will be perceived as weak and will generate a leadership void that will produce rivalries among his or her black belts who believe that they are more qualified to handle the leader's power. Being firm yet courteous and considerate is the mark of an effective Shogun. Such an individual is able to generate genuine loyalty and keep hurt feelings to a minimum.

It is widely believed that in a strong family, the toughest fighters will get ahead. Soke decrees that this is a naive view. It assumes that a student's value to the family can be objectively demonstrated. In reality, a student's value is what the Family Head thinks it is. As the higher ranks must concern themselves with political problems, often the person who is best at solving such problems will be seen as valuable and will gain rewards. In other words, a higher rank will be judged to be 'productive' in proportion to how often and how well he serves the Shogun's needs. One of the basic problems with performance appraisal systems is that they naively assume that performance is objectively measurable rather than a product of politically motivated judgement.

Developing the ability to criticise courteously and constructively is necessary to ensure students receive accurate messages about their performance. If criticism is delivered without courtesy, students may feel 'put down' and could become defensive. The assertive black belt is usually objective in his or her critical assessments of others and constructively delivers such dissertations. He or she attempts to correct situations without precipitating negative emotions and attitudes.

A new idea must be packaged so that it does not pose a threat to the position of those who must decide on it. If a new idea is packaged so that it matches the needs of the decision maker, it stands a good chance of acceptance. Alternatively, if the idea is expected to stand on its own merit, it is likely to be rejected. The naive view that ideas ought to be judged on their own merits results from a lack of understanding of the influence that political factors have on decision making.

Those managing to achieve a high position in Zen Do Kai expect at least a nominal deference from those who occupy lower positions in the hierarchy. The individual does not have to abandon any long standing value systems to accommodate this reality though. Personal integrity and even pride can be maintained if one is not afraid to articulate one's principles should one have the skills to do this effectively.

One of the marks of the powerful individual is that person's ability to persuade people to do things in spite of differing opinions. This requires a perceptive observation of people to learn what actions or rewards can serve as incentives for them to further your objectives. Small favours and simple words of praise can augment greatly the Family Head's influence on his or her Zen Do Kai family.

"Honour the chief, every tribe must have one." - Anonymous.

Philosophers and politicians have agreed that the bonding together in family groups is both instinctive and necessary to human welfare - and therefore essential to the health of a society. The family is the microcosm. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939).

Accidents will occur in the best regulated families. Charles Dickens (1812-1870).

There is little less trouble in governing a private family than a whole kingdom. Montaigne.

If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873).

Tomorrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882).

New opinions are always suspected and usually opposed, without any reason but because they are not already common. John Locke (1632-1704).

Politics are now nothing more than a means of rising in the world. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784).

The critic, one would suppose, if he is to justify his existence, should endeavour to discipline his personal prejudices and cranks - tares to which we are all subject - and compose his differences with as many of his fellows as possible, in the common pursuit of true judgement. T.S.Elliot (1888-1965).

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