1.  Master/Hanshi
The most important thing, by far more than anything else is the
position of Master or Hanshi.  This person is the living embodiment
of the principles and philosophies of his style.  This person lives
the skills and teaches through actions, not words.  As the leader
trains himself through the course of his life, he becomes the living
example for all other followers.  This is the Master's obligation to
his students.  Conversely, the duty or obligation of the students is
to follow in the way of the Master.  That is, try their best to copy
the example which they are priviledged to witness and observe.  It is
not necessary for the Master to be able to explain his principles,
strategies, body mechanics or philosophies, only to serve as the
living example for others to follow his "way".
To me, Master Ota is just this.  I can not think of, nor have I ever
seen a harder working practitioner.  His reputation in Okinawa was
the same, the hardest worker in the dojo.  Even at age 63, Sensei Ota
trains harder than any student in the organization.  Unlike many
other Hanshi, he is still working to improve himself.  Most others
physical abilities decline rapidly or they get lazy and become
talkers!  Not Hanshi Ota, just look at the speed, power, snap, etc.
of his technique on the recent DVD's and this stands as proof that he
represents the "way".
Secondly, Master Ota drives himself to excell at all aspects of the
art, and, in my personal opinion, is the best all around practitioner
that I know.  He possesses phenomenal technique, speed and power.  He
excells at kata, kumite, and kobudo.  There are no weaknesses in his
"game".  I think it is hard to say this of many other Masters, at
least when they get to Master Ota's age.
Thirdly, as far as his principles which he symbolizes:  Nothing he
does is arbitrary.  That is, the student must practice the drills and
exercises, kata and kumite.  The principles and philosophies of his
style apply across the board and all are connected to each other.
Nothing can be skipped and nothing is arbitrary, it always has a
purpose.  And, it always relates to what works in combat.  In my
opinion, this can not be said of most styles.  Many dojo I have seen,
for instance, will warm up with specific drills and then go straight
to kumite practice.  kata is purely a way to say they have tradition,
but it is meaningless and unconnected to the core of their training.
For Master Ota, the skills developed in the drills help us develop
the skills in Kata and are directly related to the strategies in
kumite.  There is a connective tissue between everything we do when
we "follow in the way of the Master".
2.  Dojo owners/Senior Black belts
Senior students should do their best to be like the Master they
follow.  At first students should train without questioning and try
to understand the Master's methodologies.  As a student progresses
they should be able to understand and demonstrate the principles.
Senior students, after years of following should be able to question
the principles and philophies of the Master because this enhances the
learning experience of the whole dojo.  However, I can never think of
a time when Master Ota could not answer or explain any principle.
Sometimes, however, he will not provide answers or details if he
feels the student is not ready to be asking the question and should
still train more.
The most important function of the Senior students is to be able to
explain the principles of the Master.  Rarely, in my view, do Senior
students become Masters themselves.  Rather, they devote their study
to following the "way".  They generally are not the living embodiment
of those principles and philosophies, but they should be the liasons
of the Master's knowledge for the other students.
These Seniors must be able to explain (even if they make mistakes):
1.  Explain what skills are developed in each kata.  Especially,
Fukyukata 1 and 2, Pinan, Naihanchi, Ananku, and Wankan.
2.  They should be able to relate how and what drills help to develop
these skills and why they are important for kumite and combat.
3.  Senior students should also be able to explain how these
principles apply to be other kata, especially the more advanced forms.
Some organizations award Teaching Certificates to designate that the
Master believes that a Senior can represent the principles and
explain those strategies, etc. to others.  This is one way that
organizations have been able to grow without diluting the "way".

Mike

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for clearing space