Sensei Scott MacPhee
Rank: Renshi-Rokudan: 6th Degree Black Belt
“The goal of the martial artist is perfection. Perfection, by definition, is an unachievable goal. Therefore, it’s not about the goal, it’s about the journey.”
It was the summer of 1982. I was a small, skinny child with a sharp whit but no desire to get into fights. My mouth had other ideas. I needed to know how to defend myself physically from people who couldn’t match me verbally. I needed karate. Thus began a lifelong passion for martial arts. I studied karate and weapons all through my teens. Fast forward to 2001, after a hiatus, then returning to class, I began teaching: children’s classes, then adults, then weapons. Fast forward to 2020, I have achieved the rank of Renshi-Rokudan: 6th degree black belt and Master of martial arts.
I have almost 30 years of study and 20 years of teaching. Martial arts to me, my reason for training, is blurred into a definition of self: I train because that’s who I am, I teach because I want to pass on what was given to me. The most difficult thing to do in life is to make the first step. In karate, the most difficult thing to do is to walk through the door the very first time. The next hardest thing to do is walk through the door the second time. This pattern stays true for at least 7 classes. Perseverance is the only answer.
As a teacher, I am a stickler for detail and tend to look for ‘root cause’ issues that a single change can affect a cascade of other issues. I believe that everyone is the hero of their own story, and therefore everyone’s training is unique. When I teach, I focus on each person as an individual and as the most important person in their story. The goal of the martial artist is perfection. Perfection, by definition, is an unachievable goal. Therefore, it’s not about the goal, it’s about the journey.