In short, “titles.” Titles are designations that often make a person’s credentials known to the unknown seeking knowledge leading toward understanding. In the martial arts, at least in the beginning circa early 1900’s, the original title used was and is today, “sensei.” When a fledgling new student enters the martial dojo for the very first time and with either limited or nonexistent understanding hears this title for the first time, mostly. Where people tend to go astray here in these non-Asian cultural societies they assume that the title is exclusive to that discipline. In this case the martial and karate disciplines. In truth, as with a ton of other practiced etiquette requirements, such titles and other practiced etiquette standards are not exclusive to the dojo but are simply the cultural standards and practices of that culture, I.e., in the case of martial arts and karate the standards and social practices of Japan, Okinawa and China predominantly.
Here in the America’s, and to the perception of this author, most martial artists and karate-ka see such titles as Master, Sensei and Shihan, etc., and immediately perceive their mystic-like symbolism so they succumb to their ego’s and make the titles something, in many cases, they are not when time and effort is given to the research of how these titles came to be and are used in said cultures.
The main titles you see today are, “shihan, hanshi, kyoushi or kyoshi, renshi, and finally sensei. Here is a short translation of those titles:
• Shihan [師範] is translated to mean, “Instructor; (fending) teacher; model.”
• Hanshi [範士] is translated to mean, “Fencing master of the top rank.”
• Kyoushi or Kyoshi [教師] is translated to mean, “Teacher (classroom).”
• Renshi [錬士] is not even translated by one source but is translated on a Shinjinbukan web site as, “Refined, polished Samurai expert.”
• Sensei [先生] is translated to mean, “Teacher; master; doctor; with names of teachers, etc., as an honorific.”
Now, in addition, many of such titles were also assigned additional titles such as master and grand master. Here is how I see the title of “grand master.”
Well, mastery is a most awesome goal in the study and practice of martial arts and karate and that is a given but where I lean toward hesitancy is using master and grand master as titles to recognize a most fallible human being. When one has mastered something, become an extraordinary expert in some discipline, then I ask the question, have they mastered the system?
What is mastery? In a literal translation of the word we are told that mastery is a comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment. Master is about control or superiority over someone or something. It is also said that mastery is the action or process of mastering a subject or accomplishment.
When we remove one letter from the word we get, “Master.”
▪ A master is a person who has people working for him, especially servants or slaves.
▪ A master is a person who is a skilled practitioner of a particular art or activity.
▪ A master is a person having or showing very great skill or proficiency.
▪ A master is one who has acquired complete knowledge or skill in an accomplishment, technique, or art.
▪ A master is one who has the ability to gain control of; overcome.
Now add on the first word, Grand, and we get.
▪ A grand person is one who is magnificent and imposing in appearance, size, or style.
▪ A grand person denoted the most important item of its kind.
▪ A grand is a thousand dollars or pounds - money.
▪ A grand is a grand piano.
Now, lets try to add the two and see what comes up, “Grand Master.”
▪ A Grandmaster is a a chess player of the highest class, especially one who has won an international tournament.
▪ A Grandmaster is the head of an order of chivalry or of Freemasons.
▪ A Grandmaster is the head of a military order of knighthood, a lodge, fraternal order, or the like.
▪ Also, grandmaster. (lowercase) a person at the highest level of ability or achievement in any field.
▪ Lastly, there is a definition of a Japanese grandmaster (lowercase) in martial arts. “Grandmaster (or Grand Master) and Master are titles used to describe or address some senior or experienced martial artists. Typically these titles are honorific in nature, meaning that they do not confer rank, but rather distinguish the individual as very highly revered in their school, system, or style.”
Another title that is used and connected to this articles subject is, “Soke.” (Quoted from Koryu.com)
▪ If Internet websites can be believed, in the English-speaking world the Japanese word soke has become a title for individuals who claim to be "great grandmasters" or "founders" of martial arts.
▪ Surprisingly, however, the term is not explained in recent English-language dictionaries of martial arts directed toward general readers, nor in the more authoritative books about Japanese martial culture.
▪ Apparently this very obscurity provides commercial advantage when it is invoked in a competitive marketplace crowded with instructors who promote themselves not just as high-ranking black belts, but as masters or even grandmasters.
▪ This English-language usage stands in stark contrast to the connotations of the word soke in Japan where, if it is used at all, it strongly implies loyalty to existing schools, deference to ancestral authority, and conservative adherence to traditional forms.
◦ Despite what many seem to believe in the West, as a Japanese word soke has never meant "founder," nor does it mean "grandmaster."
My intent here is to convey the convolution of title used indiscriminately throughout the American or Western martial arts and karate communities. You can read more about such things here: Soke: Historical Incarnations of a Title and its Entitlementsby William M. Bodiford
In general, my perception and interpretation, grandmaster itself as a title would mean that a person who has attained the highest level of ability OR achievement in any field, in this case martial arts and/or karate, who is skilled in the art and way and who has accumulated or acquired a complete knowledge, understanding, and skill in the art or way or jutsu of martial arts and karate. In essence it is about one who has demonstrated through actions and deeds the ability to gain control of themselves and have overcome those internal obstacles of the ego to be in the moment and of the way of martial arts in theory, as a philosophy and toward the physical, mental and spirit of that discipline in every facet of life in and out of the dojo.
Now, with all the masters, grandmasters (lowercase for a reason guys), soke’s and other such trappings created out of original historical context by the West has seldom, truly and honestly been accomplished. Having a high rank is not indicative of mastery although is often a symbol of years of practice, a solid understanding and the ability to adequately relay such expertise to others in teachings.
When I looked up Soke [宗家] I found one translation that gave it the English, “Head of family; originator.” First character translated to, “Religion; sect; denomination; main point; origin; essence,” and the second character translates to, “house; home; family; professional; expert; performer.” Here is an interesting point tho, when the characters are translated elsewhere not one translation says anything about its use in martial arts or karate circles except sites in the West that run a dojo, a business.
Then there is its usage, historically speaking; some titles are honorary and awarded in recognition of services, expertise, understanding and ability in a discipline. They are not meant to be titles used indiscriminately in a more egoistic self-soothing and self-serving way. In one view, to use such titles in this way simply states that the one holding said title is not worthy of that title of honorary recognition. But, then again, our way in the West is about self-esteem, self-soothing and the gratifications we can get wherever and whenever we can to … self-sooth and give ourselves the belief we have self-esteem.
Now, this is presumptuous of me and many will say that because I don’t have such recognitions and connections that I am just whining about what others have achieved. It is not true because the research I have done, more than most in the communities without some form of dissonance involved, comes from those who have spent decades studying and coming to understand the more historical facts of martial arts and karate. Koryu, is one form of traditional martial arts or jutsu.
• Shihan [師範] is translated to mean, “Instructor; (fending) teacher; model.”
• Hanshi [範士] is translated to mean, “Fencing master of the top rank.”
• Kyoushi or Kyoshi [教師] is translated to mean, “Teacher (classroom).”
• Renshi [錬士] is not even translated by one source but is translated on a Shinjinbukan web site as, “Refined, polished Samurai expert.”
• Sensei [先生] is translated to mean, “Teacher; master; doctor; with names of teachers, etc., as an honorific.”
Now, I am not Japanese and the year I spent on Okinawa is no qualification what so ever and just because I spent the last ten years studying various sources of note on Japan, Okinawa and China does not mean I am an expert but I do believe I am knowledgeable, at least enough to pose theories and questions on the subject.
Here is my theory, by belief, on the titles. They are symbolic of certain things in general and toward expertise in martial arts and karate. In truth, as I perceive and distinguish the above translations those titles, including Sensei, may not be appropriate for martial arts and karate at all.
• Shihan is just an instructor or teacher of the fencing martial arts. Not to say that by its usage in martial arts, general, and karate could bring about an addition to the translation but it is pretty clear that such a change has not been implemented in any of the translation sites, other than martial and karate sites, to be used in martial arts or karate.
• Hanshi is about fending and one who is a top ranked fencing expert. As with shihan above, if it were adopted and accepted by the masses for what is is used for today in martial arts and karate then the translations would reflect that change, right?
• Kyoushi/Kyoshi just means teacher, in a classroom, and I would accept the dojo as a classroom and therefore, along side sensei, would accept kyoshi and sensei as the same level, meaning teacher.
• Renshi means polished samurai expert and no one, not one outside the Koryu circle or family rates to use or be honored by that title. As with the others, if accepted and used in this assumed meaning in martial arts it would be reflected in the translations, etc.
• Sensei, is a teacher and is accepted even in martial arts, karate and the dojo. So, sensei as it is used in the West is the only one in my view, perception and belief as valid usage in the martial arts and karate dojo.
I am proud to have done the work, come to understand the martial karate way and Jutsu and to have accomplished a lot toward knowledge, understanding and belief along with pretty good applications, etc., and that is enough for me. I judge myself to myself for myself and except in general fundamental ways allow for others to influence my self-judgment of self. I can always, and do, compare what I do, say and teach with others where I do what I call, “Data Mining,” to remove the chaff from the wheat so my understanding, etc., is based on more factual historical aspects rather, mostly, than emotions and ego and pride. In that light, if I had or were honored by my peers with such titles and symbols I would hold that close and have pride that the group accepted me as is, not as they expect and that is enough where I would take such trappings of accolades and respect, put them away in my office desk and on rare occasions take them out to honor the others for their view of me and my capabilities but they would remain there for personal reasons and use and views.
I would not allow those accolades, titles, etc., to be used in public or even in private or even on correspondence, etc. It would be inappropriate and lead too far toward egoistic pride filled self-esteem building self-soothing aspects not of my way. I would prefer to witness the absorption and use of my teachings on the dojo floor, that is the only true recognition because that application toward action and deed by those who follow my mentoring attempts speaks volumes above and beyond mere titles, ranks and other accolades. I have always felt that when one mimics and synthesizes what you say, do and how you act into their efforts and lives, when they synthesize that into their own ways … that is the highest recognition anyone, me especially, can achieve even in one lifetime.
I present this to the martial community and to those considering that community of practitioners so they understand that such things are not necessarily the titles and symbols of the martial artist and karate-ka but simply titles to recognize those within the community as exemplary folks that stand out and are some what, “enlightened, knowledge and proficient” in martial practices and applications.
How they are used is covered somewhat in the above information because the realm of the “koryu practitioner” is one who adheres to a most traditional form of martial discipline so that the practice can maintain and pass on the “historical” rather than the practical. Koryu can be somewhat practical but when research is done the disciplines are often in area’s that are just not practice, fundamentally, for say, defense-protection for self-defense - defense.
The question for me becomes, "how can they, those who would bestow such titles, assess and qualify then award such a title since none of them are masters or grand masters. It is an honor when your membership, dojo mates, think highly of you and want you to be recognized but if they don’t hold the rank, they don’t have the accomplishments and have not met the criteria (whomever does that too?) and have no real knowledge or experiences to set the standards then is it valid? Is it true? and is it reality?"
The old adage of, “buyer beware,” comes to mind and that is the purpose here, to put into the mind of the martial artist and karate-ka that what they see, hear, read and observe may not be what they think. It all depends on the breadth and depth of research a sensei, practitioner and student have done because if people are not lazy and they do the research they may begin to understand such trappings and ego stroking titles, symbols and other such stuff.
Note: On the island of Okinawa, the birthplace of karate, many of the dojo were located in the yards of their teachers with little or no etiquette, I.e., addressing as sensei, wearing do-gi or formally sitting mokuso at the start and end of sessions. Many were very informal, no one called the teacher sensei or master but actually “papa-san” and didn’t wear more than what appears as underwear due to the intense heat of the island. As to Japan, take a look at the Koryu martial sources to really get a picture of this.
Titles - So Many .....
I often wonder why we Americans, humans maybe in general, are so enamored with titles. We have things in IT like "programmer analyst," "release engineer," and "software engineer." In the many system of Asian fighting we have, "Kensei," "Kyoshi," "Hanshi," "Shihan," "Daishi," "Deshi," "Doshi," "Renshi," and "Myoshu." This is just the one's I know of.
Other semi-titles are, "Sho-dan through Ju-dan," and "Master, Grand Master," etc. Some Okinawan? Japanese oriented and others Western names and titles created/developed over the last twenty plus years.
If we cannot attain a title for what ever reasons then we tend to gravitate toward "creating titles" that suit our needs, wants and desires. Is this a good thing, does it live to the spirit of the system and do they have any true, accepted, meaning outside either the person, training facility or system associations?
Then we have to ask, does it matter either way? I have/had titles in my life and they were and are very important... to me. Often they were for work and were important simply because sometimes a title denotes a proficiency that meant "more money."
A company manager may make a certain level of money while a Chief Executive Officer will make a ton more .... this seems to be the way of our culture. Culturally speaking in regards to Asian systems of martial arts it began in feudal Japan where a hierarchical system with titles adopted from Chinese influences are still in use today in Japan.
This is a bit like a lineage, ancestry be it family or martial system. It has and always will matter at one level or the other. It seems a human condition and is present in cultures and belief systems. Even religious history shows titles, statuses and hierarchical rule.
Oh yea, we have titles or labels for everything so it seems it might be a natural tendency to label or give a title to all things. Even the Tao, which is not explainable with words, gets explained with words. The unnamable tao is till labeled the tao.
Last question, when someone utilizes a title does it say anything particular about that person? Does it matter? I use to wear a red/white-paneled obi. One day I needed to leave the dojo to go down a public hall to the rest room. I took it off, folded it neatly and placed it atop my gear bag. Another practitioner asked, "Why did you take off your belt to go to the rest room?" Simple, in many eyes it might convey "master status" and that may prompt someone to test that premise, I don't wish to instigate some conflict." I wonder if someone at a function failed to use a person’s title if it would instigate some conflict?
This of course brings up another troublemaker, "a person's sense of entitlement." The anathema to humbleness. Then again if everyone had knowledge of me, called me some title and caused me to be flattered - wouldn't I too allow the title to stand? How does this stand next to the Asian culture and belief regarding "humbleness?"
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