Originally Posted by samertz
...I do have a set of checks and balances in place with Shihan Williams, Hanshi Alexander and Hanshi Sells.
Other than a few years of Hayashi-ha Shito Ryu and Kenshin Ryu Kobudo (and that, many years ago), my knowledge of Karate-do in general and Okinawan martial arts in general is pretty limited.
In the Japanese arts, terms like hanshi, renshi, and kyoshi are not used as honorifics, as far as I have seen. I have heard shihan used within the Karate schools I attended, but never in the Aikido, Kenjutsu, Jojutsu, or Iaido schools.
Just as a doctor might be an M.D. or a D.O, yet we would refer to him or her as "Dr. Smith" not "M.D. Smith," so we would refer to Kurita Minoru Shihan as "Kurita Sensei" and not "Shihan Kurita." We refer to Tatsuhiko Konno, 7th dan, Renshi , as "Konno Sensei," not "Renshi Konno."
So is it common in OMA to refer to teachers by titles like "Hanshi Smith" (or "Smith Hanshi") rather than "Smith Sensei" (or "Sensei Smith")?
This was a submission in the Zenko Irei and ryuho kai thread, which went off topic, but as I have strong opinions on this subject I felt that it deserved a thread of its own. The question originally asked by Brian Owens was are there any titles used in Okinawan martial arts and when or how should they be used?
I personally agree with many people that here is way too much emphasis put on titles and rank in the martial arts today. In one of those old articles in Inside Karate by Shirotatsu Nakamichi (whoever that may have been) he states clearly states that titles such as shihan are only referred to in writing, never orally. Glenard Grabow in one of his articles involving his training in Okinawa states that he and his teacher often referred to each other by their first names. Teaching licenses such as renshi, hanshi, and kyoshi are not teaching licenses per se, but thery are more recognition of an individual's service to the art.
What really bothers me is the use of Asian titles when addressing non Asian individuals. It was pointed out in the forum alluded to above that the correct way in Asian verbiage is to address the instructor as Kyan sensei, rather than Sensei Kyan, which is the norm in the West, as we generally tend to address individuals by title then surname. This is fine when addressing an Asian instructor (who was raised in the Orient), but it seems stupid to use this verbiage when addressing an Occidental instructor. I don't know where a lot of these people grew up, but when I was growing up we referred to our teachers as Mr. Smith, Mrs. Williams, Miss Jones, etc (not a lot of Ms teaching when I was growing up), and I personally feel that addressing an Occidental instructor using Asian titles and social etiquette has more to do with satisfying someone's ego than it has to do with teaching culture or maintaining etiquette. It should be obvious to most non biased practitioners that karate (in general) went from China to Okinawa to Japan to Korea and then to the rest of the world. The Okinawans did not teach in Chinese, the Japanese do not teach in Okinawan, and the Koreans certainly do not teach in Japanese. I personally feel that titles and rank causes more trouble than it is worth.
It has been noted elsewhere that the Okinawans, at least up to relatively recent times, were far more laid back (for lack of a better expression) in terms of titles and especially in rank than the Japanese, who seem to have a cultural obsession in this regard. John Sells, in an article that appeared in an issue of the now defunct Budo Dojo magazine, stated that the Okinawans did not even use the belt system until the 1950's. In one of the last issues of the same magazine, Gosei Yamaguchi, son of the founder of Japanese goju ryu who resides in San Francisco, stated that he teaches his classes exclusively in English. The only valid reason in my opinion for using Asian titles in particular and much of the terminology in general in most traditional karate (Japanese and Okinawan) schools is if a) your instructor is an Asian fully fluent in his native language, or b) if your school regularly hosts international students, Asian or otherwise, in which case the original terminology might serve as wasy of easily communicating with all present, much in the same way international terms are used in such activities as golf, hockey and fencing. However, most of the people training in traditional Okinawan karate in this country will never travel overseas, and will rarely if ever be exposed to non English speakers in their school to any great extent. While I would agree that there are some terms that cannot easily be translated into English, there are a very small minority overall, and I feel that, especially in regards to titles, one should use the native means of address in whatever country the art is being practiced, rather than using an exotic means of address in order to supposedly maintain etiquette or justify one's ego or inclinations.
Sorry to go on so long, but I feel rather strongly on this issue based on my research and training, and I would be interested to hear what some other posters think