- This page is about the Japanese term. For the poet Shihan, see Shihan van Clief. Shihan Van Clief (born Ron van Clief Jr on August 4, 1975) is an African-American Spoken word artist and poet known for his appearances on For other uses see Shihan (disambiguation).
Shihan (師範?) is a Japanese term, often used in Japanese martial arts as an honorific title for expert or senior instructors. is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities Japanese martial arts refers to the enormous variety of Martial arts native to Japan. An honorific is a word or expression that conveys esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person The term is frequently used interchangeably with English terms such as "master instructor". English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States
Various martial arts organizations have different requirements for the usage of the title, but in general it is a high title that takes many years to achieve. It is sometimes associated with certain rights, such as the right to give out black belt (dan) ranks in the name of the organization. However, the title is generally distinct from the black belt ranking system (dan'i).
While westerners want to know specifically what makes a person into a shihan, the process of becoming a shihan can be rather abstruse in Japan. For instance, within the Bujinkan it has been said that you become a shihan when the other shihan start calling you a shihan. The is an international Ninja organization originating in Japan, that trains their students in the combat martial arts and Unconventional warfare
The use of the term is completely style or organization specific. In Japan for instance, within judo a Japanese teacher automatically became a shihan at sixth dan. meaning "gentle way" is a modern Japanese martial art ( Gendai budō) and Combat sport, that originated in Japan in the late One could say your promotion to sixth dan comes when you are ready to be called shihan. In other organizations, for example Shodokan aikido, the title is organizational and less strongly correlated to rank. is the style of Aikido founded by Kenji Tomiki （富木 謙治 Tomiki Kenji, 1900&ndash1979
See also
Japanese, like other languages uses a broad array of Honorifics for addressing or referring to people with respect Dōjōchō ( is the title for the head of a Japanese martial arts training hall or dōjō (Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic