Short version, "the relative social, professional, or other standing of someone or something. Also, the official classification given to a person, country, or organization, determining their rights or responsibilities." It uses synonyms such as, "standing, rank, ranking, position, social position, level, station, etc."
People survive literally due to status within a group. You add in other factors such as, "authority, reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking, and scarcity," All of these are under the modern heading of "influence principles," because they use this very nature of the human species to persuade and manipulate others to get what they need, notice I said need and not want.
In our need to belong, a sense of belonging is a group dynamic and groups mean survival, we look to our abilities and contributions to the group that set our status within the group and the importance we are to that group in being successful in the group’s survival.
Group dynamics under the essence of survival even if we label it as something other, it is still survival. Hierarchal models dominate the group dynamic; status and levels within the group set those in authority vs. those who follow, hierarchal again; the consistency of the individuals contributions and services dictate status and membership; due to the group's need for consistency and adherence to certain traits toward the survival of the group are achieved through the group, a social entity, proofs; scarcity itself is about those needs, i.e., food, shelter, health, security, etc., that may be scarce not just within the group but without that the group needs to compete for in the environment.
Status therefore serves a huge survival need of the group ... until it doesn't. When a group loses site of its goals and objectives toward its survival then ego and status jump into the deep end of the pool together thus creating friction, aggression and violence. Not the kind that is positive to the group survival but the kind that wears away at its solidarity to separate and destroy it from within._
In a dojo, the goals of the dojo and its members must focus entirely on its intent when the rubber meets the road. In martial arts and karate that would mean, in essence, survival through self-protection defenses, etc. In that intent and objective the following matter little:
• Testing, especially for rank, status and ego.
• Ranking systems that symbolize persona accomplishments that often do not relate and meet the groups overall intent and purpose.
• Egoistic personal accomplishments detrimental to the groups needs, goals and objectives, etc.
• Competition with trophies and accolades more individual then group oriented with the type of training and practice not conducive to self-protection.
People who teach and create dojo groups with proper intent and objectives with a focus on those principles to achieve mastery and successful practitioners in application will hold certain traits that foster, build and evolve the group and as byproduct the individual group members to reach the stars. They embrace not a competitive win-lose model but a common, connected, beneficial and mutually successful model that is exemplified by such things as, the sensei-deshi; senpai-kohai; tori-uke concepts that further the group, the dojo and system or style, to achieve survival through an evolutionary, prosperous and changing dynamic.
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