09/22/2026
Recently, in a conversation in a martial arts group, a gentlemen "corrected" another group member who referred to him as Sensei. The gentleman said "my official title is Hanshi and I prefer to be called that". Anyone who knows anything about Asian culture will immediately see the problem...
If you refer to yourself or you demand others refer to you as Sensei, Renshi, Kyoshi, Hanshi, Master, Grandmaster, etc., then you are obviously not.
It is considered very arrogant and even pretentious to call yourself by such titles.
"Sensei" is an honorific title people use to refer to school teachers, lawyers, doctors, etc. All of those jobs have strict education requirements to be considered worthy of that respect.
Sensei is an honorable title for anyone who has been recognized by their peers as such.
Renshi, Kyoshi and Hanshi are teaching titles, like college degrees, and are used when introducing someone or maybe a business card, but not used in a regular class setting.
I have many friends on social media who have their martial arts title in their profile name. It shows a very basic lack of understanding of the culture they are supposed to be the expert on. I am in no way pointing fingers. I am trying to save you unspoken embarrassment. I know some martial artists will say "well that isn't how we do it at our school". That is fine for you but if you are going to use an Asian title you should at least know how it is used.
Don't even get me started on the number of American "Soke".
