Find the Inspiration to Drive you Forward with Mentorship

Through the course of my life, I have been both a beneficiary and a provider of a series of mentorships in my areas of competence, all of which have and continue to serve immeasurable value in my life.

Having mentors to help guide me, have a confidential open dialogue with, and challenge me to reach for my potential has been irreplaceable in helping me become who I am today. I'm resolute in my conviction that simultaneously having a mentor and being a mentee is essential to creating the dualism of inspiration and motivation to master whatever one chooses in their life. I use a mentorship model for my services as it has been optimal for ensuring my students, and clients receive the best care, service, and focused attention as possible in pursuit of their specific goals and objectives.

Since opening my dojo in 2018, I've been fortunate to help a series of young men and women improve their lives, develop the confidence to overcome hurdles and continue to challenge themselves daily as their Sensei/Senpai/role model/mentor. I continue to make this relationship a priority for all my students by capping my class sizes and dedicating as much focused energy as possible into my small but passionate student body who seeks my mentorship specifically. Interest in my services are growing, but I refuse to compromise on the quality of my time and 1:1 mentor/mentee relationship with my students by expanding class sizes further

What Does Mentorship Look Like?

The Sensei to Student Relationship

Each student approaches their relationship with their Sensei (translated literally as “the one who has gone before”) differently. My job is not to “preach” but to offer an open door to any of my students looking for my mentorship and guidance. This relationship evolves as the student grow up, becoming more comfortable with both me, and the martial arts training process specifically.

My goal is to offer support for my students in their good times, in their hard times, and offer to guide them should they choose to seek my advice, experience, and support in pursuit of their goals. Metaphorically, my job as Sensei is to operate like the stars in a night sky, or a lantern on a dark path; helping my students light their path of life (the final character in karate 道 meaning “the way” or “the path”) without walking their path for them. I strive to shine a light on the many paths they could choose to take in life, without deciding for them which path to trek. This mentorship relationship continues into adulthood, where even my most senior students will seek my guidance as they continue down the path of life.

Formality & “Day to Day” Process of Mentorship

Practically speaking, each student meets me at whatever level they like - some students preferring informal conversations in private for guidance, with others prefer a more formal approach, action planning, goal setting, and check ins. (learn more about this process here).

Typically, the more senior the student the more formal the mentorship process is, however this is not always the case. I have students benefitting from the mentorship process irrespective of their method of engagement with the mentorship process, just to varying degrees, and with various levels of “hands on”-ness from me.

I do recommend my youth students begin to understand and utilize the goal setting & action planning process, as it sets them up for success with anything they choose to pursue in life. The structure of this process gives them a practical framework to brainstorm something important to them (a goal), strategize, create a game plan to achieve it, and watch themselves make incremental progress with my mentorship and support as needed with regular check-ins. Lean more about goal setting and action planning here).

The Benefits of Mentorship

Creating a Supportive Network

Most people do best when they feel supported through a personal or professional structure, especially when it’s new or unfamiliar to them. This structure is most evident in a family, where a child learns how to act, live, and operate from their parents, and extended family, but also is present in a school or workplace, where seniors ask for respect in exchange for compassion of those learning the way.

This structure of guidance and support facilitates not only an “introduction” and role model for how to comport oneself in new experiences and situations, but allows students to know that they have a measure of support and re-assurance in case they have questions.

A mentor lives and operates in all these domains at once, serving as a role model for behaviour and action, and also a helping hand, supportive guide, and leader to help the student find their way through their personal and professional lives.

Catering to individual student needs/areas of focus

On a physical and non-physical level, each of my students has different needs. Creating a more private learning environment based on mentorship ensures each of my students gets some of my individual attention each class to ensure their progress on technical/mechanical and personal objectives they are working on.

This can be accomplished most effectively with a small student body where I'm acutely aware of each of my students' needs and a mentor/mentee relationship is prioritized at all times.

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Setting young people up for a Successful Life

Through the mentorship process, teens and youth learn the importance of having a role model; someone whose actions they see as admirable, so they can work towards the same in their lives.

By building a trusted mentoring relationship with a senior, they learn that they (of course) do not know everything, and that asking for advice from someone can help them guide their thoughts and actions to help them achieve their goals. They learn to build a trusted and confidential relationship with a mentor, who they can confide in when times are difficult, and share their successes with when times are good.

Students will have mentorship relationships the rest of their professional and academic lives whether they like it or not, with apprenticeships, corporate managers, bosses, and of course their familial relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, etc. The sooner the students can learn to build a trusting relationship with a senior, and have an open ear and mind to hear (maybe or maybe not listen!) to the advice of others with more experience, the faster they can learn to tailor their lives and actions in pursuit of their goals.

Mentorship Case Studies

Children - coming soon!

Teens & Youth - coming soon!

Adults - coming soon!

Mentorship Frequently Asked Questions

  • The mentorship process is a back and forth “open door” dialogue between the mentor and mentee. It can be very informal, or a formalized, documented process. Both are beneficial, depending on the student’s needs

    Mentorship looks different for each student, as the actions, guidance, and effort put into maintaining the relationship with the mentor on the student's part are entirely different for everyone.

    This means some students who are fiercely independent may only seek mentorship in their most trying times, while others seek guidance or an open conversation on a recurring basis.

    See some examples of what mentorship looks like in our case studies (coming soon!)

  • Mentorship is central to and inseparable from our martial arts teaching. There the mentorship elements of the martial arts training are included for all enrolled students at no extra charge

    All students may, at their own volition engage as superficially or deeply with the mentorship process as they like while they are enrolled.

  • Yes. Learn more here