The Niju Kun 20 precepts of Shotokan

The Niju Kun: 20 precepts

Most students of Karate as very used to the Dojo Kun, perhaps because it is repeated time and again after each class from the time you are a while belt right thru your black belt times and even when you are an instructor. The Dojo Kun deals with wide scope ideaology that basically shows you things that you should do to be a good person. It does not really address Karate per see, or how to train in Karate.

I don’t know of a single person I have trained with who could tell me the Niju Kun, let alone what the 20 precepts were…or were for. The point of the Niju kun is very much about teaching Karate, training in Karate and what one should feel when doing Karate. Its an ideal ideology on what one should be looking to while training, not so much just about being a good person but how to treat and aggressor and such. Its the opposite of the feel good Dojo kun, its more about how to apply the deadly art we like to pretend is a family sport.

One of the problems with the Niju Kun is exactly what it talks about…its bad for the image of what the Karate world is trying to portray to Moms and Dads as they drop their kids into the local McDojo, its pure…raw…and physical. The Niju Kun places Karate back into the ideal of Budo and away from sport Karate….it makes fun of those thinking of scoring points and it basically makes the student aware that with the right training, what they are doing when they dance their dance can be a whole lot more than just aerobics.

This is not to say that the Dojo kun is useless or misleading, it is not. If we train everyone to be killing machines and make them focus on the kind of training that they need to survive a street fight, but don’t make them human…we would be in for a world of trouble. When reading the Niju Kun, and after reading my comments. Please remember that the main focus of Karate is to balance you mentally and physically, to make better people….who can defend themselves.

The Niju Kun

Unlike the Dojo Kun, the Niju Kun was written by Gichin Funakoshi Sensei for his students as his style of Shotokan was in its infancy. He wanted to stress the lessons his masters had passed on to him and encourage them to be careful and diligent in their practice and teachings. He wanted to leave them with lessons they could train in after he was gone.

Funakoshi Sensei was also entering a new arena in the reality of Karate, the mass marketing of a whole system. Prior to this the average club had about 8-9 students and the instructors would mostly not charge them. They paid for their own clubs out of their great family wealth. Now, The emegration of Shotokan to the mainland meant that they would be teaching huge numbers of students and opening stand alone clubs that the students would support with their own money. He saw this coming and created the Niju Kun to keep the spirit of true Karate alive.

NIJU KUN: the 20 precepts of Shotokan Karate.

Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari rei ni owaru koto a wasaru na: Karate-do begins and ends with bowing. The very first line of the Niju kun brings us back to a very important point in Karate….Respect. Unlike “Respect others” We have a very pointed “Don’t do Anything Karate without first showing respect”. This protects against Egos and dangerous behavior by reminding us we need to respect our fellow students.

The Whole idea is not so much to keep us following etiquette and being polite, its to check your ego at the door. To often we see brown belts with pumped out chests and egos turn into tyrants on the dojo floor. The fact that they must show respect to each member of the club and bow to them is a way of countering this….but only if they know why they are doing it and don’t bow as a throw away gesture.

Karate ni sente nashi : There is no first strike in karate. This is one of the most debated Internet discussions I have ever seen. What does this mean? Well the beauty of the Niju kun is it makes you think. This line, to me, goes towards attitude…not so much application of techniques.

How boring would a tournament be if we had not first attack? How could we train in self defense if we don’t have a initial attacker? The point of this line is simply, again in my mind, that we should not be aggressive and “attack” first. It is always best to asses the situation and react.

This line does NOT exclude using a Karate technique to stop an assault from happening, even if it is to use Sen no Sen and attack first, it simply means that you should not go about looking to start fights!

Kind of Ironic that the Niju kun fell out of favor with the JKA many years ago and many of the instructors would go out, when they were much younger, and test their fighting ability by picking fights with Yakuza (gangs) and going to bars and getting into fist fights. They were not the only ones as well. It is well documented that Azato would do the same thing, and many other great masters.

The point of the whole thing is basically don’t pick fights, or don’t be overly aggressive. Hold your temper and use Karate only when needed.

Karate wa, gi no taske: Karate stands on the side of justice. We need far more of this in our society. I have seen instructors doing illegal things, acting immorally and basically abusing their students and their position…and those in the upper level of the organizations do NOTHING. Also I have seen far to many senior instructors turn their back on the indiscretions of their students…they say “hey it did not happen in the clubs so what can I do”….for one….refuse to teach the person!

A true Karate student will step in and risk themselves when others need their help, they will step up and say something when they don’t think something is right. They will push till the truth and justice is served. Not sit in the back saying “yah, but I want my black belt”! Karate can only be a good thing if it is used as a sword for justice, not for apathy or immorality.

Mazu onore o shire, shikashite ta o shire : First know yourself, then know others. Seems like Sensei Funakoshi was not against borrowing heavily from Lau Tzu! The know yourself line is a biggie in Chinese thinking, serves to stand he would take it seeing as he studied the Chinese classics.

In a nut shell this means that you need to figure out who you are, what is your character, what do you stand for and what you want out of training….before you try and teach others and know your own abilities before you try and challenge others truthfully.

The premise of knowing yourself before you try to know others is a good one for teachers to remember and also so you don’t get lost in the process. To often I see students forget that there is a difference between who they are and who they think they are…this is when people get physically hurt.

Gijitsu yori shinjitsu : Mentality over technique. This is the true value of a black belt. They may not have the best techniques, they may not be the toughest guy in the club. But they show heart, effort and try. The athlete that has it come easy is easily board and run off. The man/woman that strives to get their black belt and pushes through hard times and struggles to reach each goal has the right mentality.

The personal character of a person will decide if they are worthy of being called a black belt and being seen as a black belt, or if they will be simply viewed as the owner of a black chunk of cloth! Therefore it should be effort, perseverance, character and dedication before fancy kicks, perfect form and ability to physically master others.

Kokoro wa hanatan koto o yosu : The heart must be set free. At some point in our training we will need to see two things, first that our instructor lets us “look around” and learn on our own. We need to be set free and encouraged to explore and train hard with others that can help us. And the second is that we learn to release our spirit in each class. We need to let the tiger go and train with spirit.

“the heart must be set free” has several ideas behind it, but the main point is that we train without holding back and learn to train with our complete spirit released.

Wazawai wa ketai ni seizu : Calamity springs from carelessness. Almost without exception, every single injury I have had or those I have worked with could have been avoided or at least less damaging if the person who was hurt or the other student had proper gear, was more careful and paid attention during class.

I broke my nose not paying attention, got KO’d by not thinking safety first and saw so many injuries that a mouth guard or hand pads could have helped avoid.

So, don’t train with poor gear or no gear available and also be sure to be safe during training be being alert and not goofing off!

Dojo nomino karate to omou na : Karate goes beyond the dojo. Karate and the way you behave goes beyond the club. If you act like an idiot outside the club or show basic poor character, don’t expect us to want you as a black belt. This line is really has two distinct points to make for me, first off Karate is not just about having nice form and being able to hang with other black belts in the club, it has a lot to do with the kind of person you are, the way you support the group and what you do outside the club. Being a representative for Karate means you are doing this inside and outside the club. You do not have to follow the Dojo kun (being a good person) just while you are in the club and the amount of effort you put into the club while not on the floor perspiring is also just as important.

More along the lines of actual Karate outside the club, don’t let your guard down and walk around like a blind person…even a visually impaired person is way more alert than some of my students outside the club. Remember what the original intent of Karate is, self defense. Note that I am saying you should be alert and use your senses, not jump around kicking and punching people. The best way to become a victim of crime is to look and act like one!

Karate-do no shugyo wa isssho de aru : Karate is a lifelong pursuit. I see this far to often. People mis-understand what a black belt is, they train very hard and then gain their black belt and Whamo…they quit. They think they have reached some end, some goal….when in fact it is only the first step…that’s what Dan means….step!

Karate is a lifelong pursuit and that means putting your time in from the day you start till the day you die. If you quit Karate training that is the only time you fail at Karate. But if you stick it out to the end, you will get great rewards for your effort; less stress, better health and a clear mind.

So often students come in and think that black belt is the goal that is so wrong! The goal is a healthy life, training with likeminded people, working towards living longer and also sharing a bit of ourselves with others. The black belt….it is a distraction that perhaps should be relabeled as “advanced student” and not seen as it is now.

Ara yuru mono o karateka seyo; sokoni myomi ari : Apply the way of karate to all things. Therein lies its beauty. Karate should never be seen as just a way of kicking and punching. It has so many hidden and not so hidden benefits that it should be looked at more by the powers that be as a potential add on to the school system and perhaps funded by the government! But that is just a personal dream of mine.

Karate can help in all facets of your life, not just for self defense or fitness but for mental health and also for personal growth! During the hardest times of my life I found myself turning to the physical, mental and spiritual teachings that Karate have brought to me. I turned to Karate during travesty and also during fantastic times. I learned to keep my temper and my patience with Karate.

At work I use my Karate training dealing with people, I use it in my daily drive home…making sure I am aware of my surroundings and also avoiding injury when other, not so alert drivers end up being not as careful. The few times I was hurt very bad outside of Karate I used it to calm myself and keep myself from going into shock!

Being Dyslexic I also use my Karate skills to concentrate and I can say, if not for Karate I would not have my university or college degrees. Karate has also helped me when life thru me curve balls and I am sure it will continue to do this for me in the future.

Karate is not just for the Dojo, it can help me in all things in life and yes, it is a beautiful thing!

I will take on the last half of the Niju Kun next time. The next half is were Sensei Funakoshi really set up how to train in Karate to be more effective and to harness this deadly art and these deadly skills.

Nana-Korobi, Ya-Oki

Nana-Korobi, Ya-Oki

There is a Japanese proverb that says “if you fall down seven times, get up eight”. This proverb has been adopted by the Karate community to illustrate one of the most important aspects of Karate and life in general…..perseverance!

Karate itself is all about effort and what you are doing in your life to move forward. We encounter so many hurdles, setbacks and issues when we train, it’s the strong that remember and live Nana-Korobi, Ya oki. We will not always succeed, we will fail at testing’s, experience injuries that set us back, leave organizations and instructors, experience personal loss, lose friends….family and also instructors to life’s continuous cycle. But the strong remember that when you lose your footing on the path and fall off, you simply stand up, dust yourself off and continue on.

In my training I have had many injuries that kept me from the hard training I love, and a few things that kept me from training completely for a short time. However, each time I came back hungry and wanting to train and work on my spirit more. That is fall down seven, get up eight.

You will get knocked down and pushed off the path several times in your training, the key to being successful is correcting and getting back on the path.

Hundreds of years ago navigation was not as sophisticated as it is now. To sale from England to Canada, my family first started in Portland Dorset, and literally criss-crossed their way across the Atlantic to get here, off course 90% of the time….NINTY PERCENT! The only way that they got here, other than the boat not having a hole in it, was by correcting a tad here and a tad there, and the captain and crew knowing that you need to correct from time to time to stay the course. Times have not changed much, did you know that when flying a plane, a pilot is only “on course” about 40% of the time, that means 60% of the time he is flying in a path that will not get you to your destination! The key is that they make corrections and find their way home.

Life and Karate is a lot like the pilot and captain. They find that the oceans waves and currents, wind and other factors are always pushing them off course, they make corrections, sometimes small and sometimes big, and they find their way back on course. This is the true spirit of Nana-Korobi, Ya Oki. Even when you find yourself “off Course”….Correct for the distractions, tests and trials that life throws at you and then you can find your way back on course.

When I teach, I talk a lot about effort and doing your best. But a lot of what I would say is a prerequisite for black belt is character and spirit. The ability to face adversity and grow from it, to surpass the trials and tribulations that life throws at us and to correct our path back to the goals we have set. To take the Adversity straight on and overcome it, to be knocked down by life’s misfortunes and vexing woe and stand back up and dust yourself off…and carry on.

Life is not a sprint, it’s a marathon and on that marathon you will have to slow down and rest, speed up to overcome and even climb mountains once and a while. The key to all of this is to simply push forward, even when you don’t think you can.

What is a black belt

I often sit and wonder what is the criteria for being a black belt and what has changed in the last 100 years or so since they started giving them out. I know and understand the physical aspects of what a black belt is but it seems to me the rest has kind of changed a bit, and I am glad we are going back to a bit of a revitalization of some points we asses for students to be black belts in our organization.

First off let me say that I get it….I get that not all black belts are the same. Not everyone is going to be a Tanaka or Imura Sensei. Not everyone is going to have perfect form like Osaka or speed and instincts like a tiger, like Yahara! Its not possible in today’s world to spend 8 hours training in Karate anymore….unless that’s how you make your living. But that also should not hold back people who want to put the time and efforts in to become a black belt.

And that’s the key point for me….efforts! Did you do things for the organization other than show up and pay your dues? No, then you are a student, and that is about all! To be a black belt in the JKA of Manitoba means you are more than a student, you represent what we are about. Your putting on that worn out…or shinny new…black belt means you are a leader in the JKA of Manitoba and your actions reflect on us. You represent the club, not just when you strap on your belt and PJ’s and scream like a crazy man calling for more spirit…but in business meetings, how you behave when confronted on the phone, how you deal with your family and friends all reflect on the organization that Dingman Sensei built.

Your training and time with the JKA you have seen how much work has gone into bringing you the best Karate we can, the lineage of masters that worked hard to bring Karate to you and the efforts of the instructors in the organization who have sacrificed their time, effort and family time to study and struggle to learn so that you can take that knowledge from them and improve! You now represent the JKA of Manitoba, for good and for bad! I know that not everyone is going to be “the same” person, character or ability… but the key thing is the effort that you put into being the best person and Karate-ka you can be. Self monitoring your Ego, being real with yourself about your choices and how much you sacrifice for the organization are all your responsibility.

When we say to you that we want you to test for you black belt, we are simply saying the bigger hurdles are over, we know you represent us well and now we want to see if you have physically learned the lessons, the character lessons and spiritual lessons are already a part of you and now we want you to be our representative.

I am often asked for advice from 1^st kyu students looking to make the leap, I am honest with them if they are my students I will tell them that the testing process to get your Shodan in his organization is 50% character and what you do before the test and 50% the test. Yes you can be the most physically gifted person in the world, but being a black belt is not about being a Super Ninja…and you can be the nicest person in the world and spend 1000000 hours working for the organization as a volunteer. The fact is that you need both….well a bit of both.

I have seen far to many morons and jerks get a Shodan and end up being more harmful to a club/organization than I can shake a stick at, but they play politics, do very little in terms of actual work and have a good physical test…they pass and the real horror show starts. I have also seen great people with good attitude put the time in and get a belt, then think they are the same as an athlete in terms of skill. Not true.

To be a true black belt you need three things; time, effort and skill. The time thing is easy, we help you with that. From the time you start Karate, if it is a perfect testing each time, you are looking at about 3.5-4.5 years of training and busting your hump in class. This is supposed to get you to understand the basics of Karate from a physical stand point. You are not supposed to be some kind of killing machine, but have a basic understanding of Karate.

The effort is what we see you put into the class, organization and improving yourself. It’s a hard one to gage and that is why we all get together as a technical committee and decide who is a candidate. We look at attitude, effort, the way they interact with others, Behavior, how much they try and help the organization and others. EVERYONE has holes in their game, or at least these three areas, but the main component again is how much effort are you putting in to clear those up.

Skill is a hard one. We have black belts that have specific physical limits, life style issues and family issues. But the basic understanding of Karate must be their. With the average of 4 years or more you should have a basic understanding of Karate by the time you are ready to ask to test.

So, what is a black belt? A black belt is someone that represents the character and integrity of a organization with their actions. They help build and maintain a organization by helping out however they can and use their skills outside the organization to assist in anyway they can. They understand the lessons that are being taught, physically and mentally and they put a lot of effort and sacrifice into the organization. They know the basic movements of the style and understand the ideas behind the system. Some teach, some don’t, some are great athletes others are good leaders, but no matter what the skill set, they have eaten bitter for the organization and are willing to do what they need to in order to see the organization thrive.

If you are a “Black belt” right now, look at your efforts and integrity in what you have been doing as a representative of the organization. If you think you may be lacking, ask if you can help. Get involved in the forward momentum of the group. There are also three kinds of black belts once you reach this level. Students, teachers and athletes….but that’s for another blog.

If you are looking at testing in the near future, take a good look at the last four or five years of your training. Have you put the effort in? Have you got the basics down? Do you think you can be a good representative for your club? Think on it a lot, don’t jump at the idea right away. The amount of effort that you are expected to take on when you are finally a black belt can be a much more than you are used to as a junior rank. Remember that the physical test is half the work, and the post exam work can be twice that work and effort you have put in physically to get to the place you find yourself now.

If you do choose to grade for the Shodan level, good luck, and don’t get a swollen head! That’s what post testing kumite is for! LOL!!!!

Respect: not really a two way street!

Far to often in Karate we hear the word Respect bantered about and often as a way of scolding others. The ironic part is that most of the time the person throwing the word around has no idea what the word actually means! Nor do they understand that you can’t request respect anymore than you can demand it! It is simply something that is given when it is earned and when the giver feels respect for you.

Respect is a concept or feeling of esteem that one feels for another person, it is not a textile that can be ordered or a tangible item that one can demand. It is a emotion that one has towards a person, organization or entity that is felt and not created on a conscious level. It has different levels or qualities, like “I have great respect” or “ I have limited respect”. The level of respect and the actual feeling of respect can be directed at a person’s skills or actions but maybe not at the person…such as “I have great respect for that persons Judgment, but not for that person”. Giving someone respect is a way of honoring someone or a person’s skills or actions, but it may not be specifically for that person in general.

Respect is very important and fundamental in the culture of Karate. We talk a lot about respecting others and respect for the instructor and fellow students, but often it is more about asking you to give respect opposed to earning respect, Kind of putting the cart before the horse really. In order to really understand respect one must look at how one earns respect and what respect is.

First off Respect should never be confused with Tolerance or fear, which one can demand or force on others, and to be frank, in Martial arts this is much more common than a person actually respecting instructors. Fear is NEVER what you want to foster in a Club, fear leads to contempt in the end an danger in the club as well. It is the opposite of respect and a club that is founded on contempt and fear will fall apart!. We, as instructors, don’t….. or shouldn’t, demand respect without first giving respect to others.

Gaining respect is not easy, especially after having lost it. One must work to give respect to others, treat them fairly and go out of their way to do their best for them in order to earn some respect. But most importantly they must GIVE respect in order to earn it. Some instructors feel that simply teaching a student Martial skills means that they have earned respect, and they get upset when students don’t cower and pay homage to them. I have seen far to often when instructors march up and down a Dojo floor barking orders and delivering a class to students that resemble a military training drill, then yelp at students about how they need to respect them. There is no relationship in this and the instructors are actually losing respect and don’t realize it.

So, respect is the thing you give and don’t expect to receive! Its that intangible thing that is given because one feels that you deserve it, its cannot be demanded but it can be earned, it should never be confused with fear or tolerance and it can be lost easier than earned….but how do we actually teach it? By demonstrating it! By showing we care about a person and by keeping their feelings in mind at all times. I have seen instructors for years paying lip service to respect and then disrespecting their own students by not caring about their feelings or personal situations. They do things to the student that demonstrate a complete lack of respect, including demanding favors for positive grading, asking for excessive gifts and abusing their relationships outside the Dojo to gain some advantage.

In Karate we have the Dojo Kun; it is our guiding light in Training and how to act as Karate people. The second last line of the Dojo kun is “Respect others” not “Get respect from others”. It, in as simple a way as possible, describes one of the most important concepts of Respect that you can have. You cannot request or demand respect, you can only give it. If you earn respect from others that is fantastic! But you must first give it. You can demand Obedience and cause fear, but you can only give respect! That is the Karate way. That is the true spirit of Karate!

Importance of the Dojo Kun

Sitting at the front of most traditional Karate Dojos is a nice calligraphy poster that looks like squiggly lines and often does not have a translation attached. These five rows of writing (often from Nakayama Sensei) are the five lines of the Dojo Kun.

The Dojo Kun is a set of five “sayings” or “rules” that were created to guide our training and daily life in Karate. Were the Niju Kun was written by Funakoshi Sensei to specifically guide us in our physical training in Karate, the Dojo Kun was reportedly created by Kanga Sakagawa in the 18^th century to guide us morally through our training in an art that was originally meant to teach people how to kill with their hands.

The Dojo Kun’s five lines cover everything from what we should be working towards as a human being to the way we should honor those around us that help us on this ever so short journey we call life. The first line of the Dojo Kun is “Seek perfection of Character”, this is one of the most overlooked and misunderstood lines of the whole Dojo Kun. It does not say “Be a perfect person” or “you must be perfect”. It simply tells you that you should be trying to improve yourself as a person and show good character in your dealings with others.

The first line fits with the fourth line very well. “Respect others”! Again, how you deal with others shows a great deal about who you are. Respect is not something that is DEMANDED by others, it is given to others. Demanding respect is kind of like trying to hold onto a hand full of water, its an illusion and often what you get is not what you think it is, you are simply fooling yourself. When you demand respect you get fear back, fine for some, but not the same thing. Giving respect however shows your personality, and in that you will get respect back.

Another Character development line is the “Be Faithful” rule. Being faithful means a lot of things to a lot of people. You need to be faithful to others that you have pledged your services to, to your word, to your family and like Shakespeare said “to thine own self be true”! Be faithful to yourself as well as others. Make promises to yourself and keep them. One big point of this is to be faithful to your art and your instructor.

One line that is often misunderstood is “hitotsu, doryōku no seishin wo yashinau koto“ Or “Foster a spirit of Effort”. A change that our instructor made was to say “Endeavour to excel”. To be frank I don’t know if he made this change or if he borrowed it from someone else trying to explain the line…but it works for me. It does not say you must be perfect, only that you need to try to be better and to get ahead of where you are now. This can be at work, in your family life or at the Dojo. Children should remember that you wont all get A+ on your report cards but you need to work at it to be the best you can be. Admittedly I did not get a lot of A+’s on my cards, but even with a learning disability I pushed myself to learn, and today I have a wide variety of knowledge in different areas because I don’t believe that the struggle to learn and excel ever ends.

The last line is perhaps one of the more confusing and strange lines to have in a Karate moral rule set! “Refrain from violent behavior”! In a Combat art? No violence? Really!!!! Just because we throw punches and kicks at each other does not make us violent people. And really it is more a caution about using your skills outside the Dojo. Being violent means acting physically against someone and harming them. We do NOT train to do this. Karate is a defensive martial art, a reactive art. By “reactive” I mean acting upon violent stimulus to end the ability for harm to come to us or our loved ones. Not that we don’t punch or kick first, but we only react to a violent assault in kind. If we see students becoming bullies we must end that behavior quickly. Karate is about defending yourself and those around you, not about being aggressive or violent. That is not the true spirit of Karate!

At the start of each line we say the word for “ONE” in Japanese to show that each line is very important and no line is more important than the next one. In Japanese we say “Ichi” for one, but the other word for one or single is “Hitotsu”. Ichi is more a number, were as Hitosu is more a place or signifies a location…like Ichiban is number one place, Hitotsu means first! Hey the Inuit have 100 words for snow, the Japanese can have a few for one!

Koto! Is a verbal representation of “!” It is used to symbolize how important that line was. Each line is just as important as the last and VERY important! So, “hitotsu, jinkaku kansei ni tsutomuru koto” means “FIRST, Seek perfection of character, !” Each line is said to be as important as the next so the Hitotsu and Koto are used in all lines to signify this.

So, is the Dojo Kun an important Guiding light in Karate or a quaint tradition that is simply said at the end of class as a traditional component of a class to show that the instructor feels that “Tradition is important” but not to be taken literally? I think it is even more important today than it was when it was first created in the 18^th century. First off we have higher end athletes training in Karate with more time on their hands and often a focus on Shiai Karate over Budo Karate. This means that they are more focused on scoring points, getting trophies and having pretty Kratty over learning more about themselves and training to defend themselves.

I hear of so many instructors and seniors who are not following the Karate way and doing things like accepting rank that is well above what they should be at, or working politically for more power and influence, leaving organizations because they feel like they deserve more and some instructors that even do illegal things and use Karate to break the law! The Dojo Kun should be a guiding light in life, not a quaint tradition performed to be showy and pay lip service to being traditional!

When you train in Karate, go to class, warm up and work hard in class. Pay attention to your instructor and perspire as much as you can, show great spirit and give your self to the class. But after class, when you are done Mokuso and your mind is clear, say the Dojo kun with an open heart and listen to yourself while saying it. Be the best person you can, Live up to your personal expectations and honor those that brought you to this point, Respect those that earn your respect and don’t demand anything in return, and do not live life violently! That is all the Dojo Kun is, a personal reminder of these things!

Japanese Honorifics and their modern use.
This is a abridged version of my original article, if you want to read the whole article email me and I will forward it to you.

Introduction
I have been calling someone Sensei or Sempai as long as I can remember! Most of the time, I would just use the title thinking that it was a person's name or not realizing the meaning behind it. And most of the time, I was using it wrong! When I first started in Karate we had one Sensei in our organization, and the rest of the teachers were Sempai to me. I was lucky enough to train at the local head quarters and even instructors at other clubs were Sempai when they came to the club to work out with my instructors.

Over time we started using the term Sensei for anyone that taught at a club, and of course the instructors that came in to teach us and do our testing.

Then we had a shift in use of the term in Canada and every senior that taught in a Dojo were called Sensei by pretty much anyone with a black belt could be called Sensei and it seemed that anyone with a black belt was Sensei...in fact you could not walk into a class without running into two or three Senseis that were in the club on a regular basis.

All this go so out of hand that we started seeing local people advertising as Kyoshi, or Renshi or Shidoin and no one seemed to know what the heck any of this meant...but it sure sounded good. I however thought it was horrible! I felt it was a smack in the face to all traditional hearted Karate people for Ranks and titles to be given out like candy and people who had no business using the title Sensei or others to adopt them as if it was "Sir" or "Mr." and the perception that someone being called Sensei should automatically be afforded a overstuffed amount of respect.and often they demanded it.was starting to not sit well with me.

So, I researched Shogo or martial honorifics and found out what we were doing wrong and hopefully this paper will help you figure out for yourself how to use the Shogo and what it really means!

What is a honorific
Honorifics are terms or titles used to address a person, describe a person or address the position a person uses. These are not to be confused with job terms or titles like Major in the military or a medical doctor. Some jobs also come with their own sets of honorifics that may confuse people.

Basically a Shogo, or marital title is used to denote a person's job, relationship to the person using the Shogo or as a title to denote specific contributions to the arts. However, many of them are misused and misunderstood in the west.

Common Martial Honorifics "Shogo" or Martial degres, titles.
Martial arts have borrowed heavily from everyday Japanese Society to come up with some of the more common Shogo or martial titles. The titles Sempai, Kohai, Sensei and even Deshi are all common Japanese Honorifics that have nothing to do with martial arts.

The term Sensei literally means "Former-born" and can be translated as "the one that came before". This term is used for teachers, Doctors, Politicians and other authority figures in Japan. This term can also be applied to novelists, poets, painters and other artists. However, in the martial arts, "Sensei" typically refers to someone who is the head of a Dojo, Sensei can be used as a suffix or as a standalone title and often is.

The term Sensei is pretty cut and dry in Japan, if you are the head teacher or a teacher in that club then you can be called Sensei by the students and visitors to the club, if you are not the head instructor or a junior instructor then you are not called Sensei. Very cut and dry..however then we have the term Sempai or Senpai! That is far more complicated. Sempai / Senpai is used to address ones senior colleagues in school, Sports and at work. In Karate and martial arts, students that are higher grades that oneself are often called Senpai, Students of the same or lower grades are not, nor are al teachers called Sensei in Martial arts. In martial arts it is more accepted to refer to ones direct mentor that is not your instructor as Sempai. So, it is more and expression of a relationship over a title.

In Japan some Honorifics are used to denote specific levels or as a way of addressing skill and grade, but they are not used in reference to someone specific. Renshi, Kyoshi, Hanshi are titles used to denote a persons level of mastery but not used in combination with their name by way of introduction. All of these titles come from licences that were given out to martial arts instructors by the Japanese budo-Kai or warrior spirit society as a way of monitoring skills of the instructors of specific arts, mostly fighting arts from feudal Japan like Kenjutsu and Yarajitsu. However they were adopted by Karate and other martial arts as "Grades" incorrectly and altered their meaning.

Some terms used that are similar may be Senhusei or Kenshusei, which literally mean Trainee, However these are not Shogo but more definitions of who a person is in the organization.

Proper use of honorifics
So, now that we know what Honorifics (Keigo) or Martial titles (Shogo) are, I think we should look at why and how they are used by the people that use them properly. Honorifics are often used to describe a relationship one has directly with the person youa re talking about or to address a degree of mastery one has in a particular area. The Proper use of these titles is by people talking about someone...not themeslves......the use of Honorifics may be used out of respect as well.

The system of Keigo in Japanese and Chinese culture are very extensive, intricate and specific. The system includes various levels of respectful, humbling and polite speech and used by many Asian languages such as Chinese and Korean languages. Honorifics are generally broken down into Respectful language, Humble language, Polite and beautification language use.

Misuse of honorifics
Honorifics have been misused horribly over the last few generations since the Martial arts hit the West. We tend to think of the Honorifics as a rank or something that denotes a higher position in a organizations structure. While some Honorifics are meant to denote status of a person, they are not used as a way of addressing someone like a job title, Doctor or Mayor! We tend to see a lot of senior instructors in the west using titles like Renshi, Kyoshi and Hanshi like they are some kind of mantle they can apply to their name.
I have seen and heard of people that refer to themselves using the titles and not realizing how egomaniacal it makes them sound. And the arrogance they are portraying is counter to the true spirit of Karate and martial arts in general.

This kind of silliness and the use of terms like “Sensei” (the one born before) For 20 year old instructors teaching people 20 years their senior…well the use of Honorifics has gotten about as out of hand as ranking has. Seems like everyone is getting to be 7th Dans and 8th Dans with political strings being pulled and forgetting that Karate is not about title or status, but your personal experience in Karate, the training and the relationships you build with others!

Conclusion
I realize that one article on rank and Honorifics, as informative and fun as I tried to make it, wont clear up this issue, but hopefully those that read it realize that some of us feel the mis-users of Honorifics are silly and require a wide path when dealing with them. We also can not correct people that have large egos, except in small ways and normally on the dojo floor or by showing them that they are missing the point in some way. But hopefully my students and those that train in the same dojos as me get the point that titles are to be used as descriptive, not as a way of cowing down and was never meant to be more than it is, a term of respect and great fullness for the person teaching you.


Lastly, I think this boils down to respect! Respect for me is very important, to those that give it to me and those I give it back two. First off Resects can only be earned, not demanded! If you demand respect what you get back is fear and often loathing! If you give respect and earn it then it is true respect! Putting a fancy Gi on, a nice belt and a lofty title do not earn you respect, especially if it comes with a unspoken demand for it! As an instructor the most important thing to do is give as much respect, knowledge and heart to your students as you can. If they choose to respect you back, that is a blessing. Tagging a title and rank onto your name will not help get you any more true respect!