Sensei

One of the most well known and yet most strange words in the Japanese language is the word Sensie (先生). If you google the word and according to most dictionaries it will quickly describe to you that Sensei means "teacher" when translated to English. That is a good enough translation to begin with, however, as you look deeper it's becomes  a little more complicated.

The term Sensei includes several levels of meaning. First, let’s look at the kanji for Sensei (先生) which may guide us to a better understanding of this term.

Therefore Japanese word Sensei would literally mean "one who has gone before". In terms of Karate a Sensei is someone with great depth of experience and who can guide you along the path. Dedicated martial artists also consider a Sensei to be a life-long guide who provides students with physical, mental and even sometimes spiritual training.

In Japan it is quite appropriate to refer to a church leader or spiritual guide as a Sensei. It is also appropriate to use the term for teachers in educational institutions, classical arts and crafts, temples, clubs and many other student-teacher relationships. While a Karate Sensei must know the techniques of Karate, there is more that can be learnt in Karate classes besides physical skills. The lessons learned in Karate training certainly can be applied to all aspects of life. Some styles only recognise the title of Sensei from 2nd Dan (Nidan) which usually demands many years of experience.