Japanese in Karate 8 "Sensei" "Senpai"

(8)ללמוד מילים ביפנית שמשתמשים באימון קראטה

会長、 館長、    師範、先生、  先輩
Kaicho   Kancho   Shihan   Sensei   Senpai

"Kaicho" means 'a chairman'. "Kai" is the group and  "cho" is the headman/chief.  So "kaicho" is the top of the group.

If the name of the group ends with "kan" or "kaikan" like "Kyokushin-kaikan" which means 'the house of the group', then the head of the group is called "kancho"

"Shihan" means  a grandmaster. The person who guides and is a good example for the learners.

"Sensei" is a teacher. "Sen" means 'ahead/before' and "sei" means 'be born'.  Sensei is the honorific title for someone who teaches or someone you respect.

"Senpai" is a senior person.  "Sen"  means 'ahead' and "pai" means 'fellow'.  So "senpai"  means  the person who joined in the group earlier and has more experience than you.

                                            My first karate "sensei" - Jim Philips(he is "shihan" now)

I will explain about "keiko"(training) next time.

Osu