What Does "Real Victory" Mean in Traditional Martial Arts?

When people think about victory in martial arts, they often imagine winning a match, scoring a decisive point, or overpowering an opponent. While those achievements can be satisfying, traditional budo teaches that real victory is something much deeper.

In classical martial arts, victory is defined as mastery of the self—body, mind, and spirit. Through long-term, disciplined training, practitioners learn humility, balance, and self-awareness. Rather than inflating the ego, budo helps place the individual within a broader social and moral context.

Traditional training also emphasizes safety and sustainability, allowing practitioners to continue their study without constant interruption from injury. Over time, this steady approach builds not only physical control, but also mental clarity, emotional stability, and ethical grounding.

Learn more in our latest article.

Start Your Journey at Our Martial Arts Association

SMAA has divisions for aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, and karate. If one or more of these is your passion, SMAA is the martial arts association for you!

To reach out about joining, call 734-720-0330 or submit an online contact form.

How to Use "Sensei" for Western Martial Artists

Are you a western martial artist? 

Are you feeling a little unsure of how to use the word “sensei?”

Western practitioners sometimes worry that calling more than one person sensei is disloyal. In Japan, this concern does not exist. A person may address many teachers or professionals as sensei in a single day. Loyalty belongs to one’s lineage, instruction, and training relationship—not to exclusive use of the word.

Traditionally, Japanese students use sensei both inside and outside the dojo. The title reflects an ongoing teacher–student relationship, not a situational courtesy. Limiting its use to the training hall can unintentionally reduce the teacher’s role to that of a technician rather than a lifelong guide and mentor, which runs counter to the values of budo.

For Western dojo wishing to honor Japanese practice, several principles are helpful: use Name Sensei rather than reversing the order; reserve sensei for addressing others, not for self-promotion; and clearly distinguish between courteous address and formal qualifications by stating ranks and teaching titles directly. It is also important to remember that sensei is widely used outside martial arts in Japanese society, reinforcing that it is a living part of the language, not a dojo-specific rank.

Read more in our latest article.

Join a Martial Arts Association that Supports Your Art

SMAA has divisions for aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, and karate. If one or more of these is your passion, SMAA is the martial arts association for you!

To reach out about joining, call 734-720-0330 or submit an online contact form.

What Does "Sensei" Mean?

You may use the word “sensei” for your martial arts instructor, but do you know what it really means?

In Japanese culture, the word sensei (先生) is an honorific used to show respect for someone recognized as a guide through knowledge, skill, or public service. Teachers, doctors, lawyers, artists, authors, and elected officials are all commonly addressed as sensei. The word literally means “one who was born before,” emphasizing experience rather than rank or certification.

In Japanese usage, honorifics follow the name—Tanaka Sensei—and are never used for oneself. This reflects keigo, the Japanese system of respectful language, in which honorifics elevate the other person, not the speaker. Understanding this simple rule helps Western martial artists use the term more authentically.

Because sensei is an honorific, it is not a rank. In budo, formal qualifications include dan and kyu grades, as well as teaching licenses or titles such as menkyo, shogo, shidoin, or shihan, depending on the tradition and organization. Legitimate martial arts associations clearly list these credentials, but none list “sensei” as an earned title. While it is appropriate to address a teacher as Sensei, their certificates will reflect rank or teaching authorization—not the honorific itself.

Read more in our latest article.

Join a Martial Arts Association that Supports Your Art

SMAA has divisions for aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, and karate. If one or more of these is your passion, SMAA is the martial arts association for you!

To reach out about joining, call 734-720-0330 or submit an online contact form.

Historical Figures and Meditation

Have you ever tried meditation?

Prominent figures such as Zen priest Takuan Soho, swordsman Yagyu Munenori, and Miyamoto Musashi wrote about freeing the mind from attachment and fear—principles still central to budo today. This mental discipline was considered just as crucial as physical skill, forming the triad of shin-gi-tai (心技体): mind, technique, and body.

Beyond Zen, many warriors also practiced esoteric Shingon Buddhism, using mantras, mudra (hand gestures), and meditation to build concentration and courage. These practices were integrated into schools like Katori Shinto Ryu, reflecting the seamless union of martial and spiritual cultivation.

Facing death without fear was another cornerstone of the warrior spirit. Texts like Hagakure and Budo Shoshinshu taught that meditating on mortality freed warriors from hesitation in battle. By accepting death, they found clarity and purpose—a lesson echoed in the term seishi o choetsu (生死を超越): “to transcend life and death.”

Learn more in our latest article.

Train Your Mind and Body at a Japanese Martial Arts Association

SMAA is a martial arts association for all martial artists who want to be part of a community of dedicating to keeping the spirit of budo alive. If you love your art and want to share it with others, give us a call at (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form to talk about joining!

Intro to Meditation in Martial Arts

Did you know meditation is a key aspect of budo?

In many dojos, it’s common to see students begin and end practice with mokuso (黙想)—a brief meditation to quiet the mind. This tradition reminds us that Japanese martial arts are not only about physical technique but about cultivating the mind and spirit.

Historically, the samurai (bushi) integrated spiritual disciplines like Zen and Shingon Buddhism into their training. Zen’s focus on discipline, awareness, and acceptance of fate resonated deeply with the warrior class. Meditation improved their focus and calm under pressure, leading to the belief that mastering combat required mastering oneself.

Over time, meditation became a vital part of martial training. Concepts such as mushin (無心, “empty mind”), fudoshin (不動心, “immovable mind”), and zanshin (残心, “remaining mind”) described mental states of clarity, emotional stability, and alert awareness. These ideals, often cultivated through meditation, allowed warriors to act decisively and without fear.

Learn more in our latest article.

Train Your Mind and Body at a Japanese Martial Arts Association

SMAA is a martial arts association for all martial artists who want to be part of a community of dedicating to keeping the spirit of budo alive. If you love your art and want to share it with others, give us a call at (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form to talk about joining!

Excellence is a Choice

Have you ever encountered a martial arts master that didn’t seem to fit the archetype of wisdom and
integrity?

Here’s what Sensei Wayne Muromoto has to say:

I looked upon my iai sensei in Kyoto with deep respect and affection. After I left Japan, we continued to write and correspond in between my visits back. He answered my questions about the history, theory, and techniques of iai, and encouraged me to dig further—to study the philosophy and spirituality behind budo. To him, a person’s nationality was no barrier to budo training, even though he had suffered through a Manchurian prisoner-of-war camp under the Russian Communists before he returned to Japan at the end of World War II. As long as you were serious about training, he would teach you.

However, when he passed away, I was told that I was no longer welcome to train at the main dojo. One of my Japanese sempai was oblique as to the reason why, and I didn’t find out until I encountered several other people in the same situation that I discovered the real answer. The sensei who took over the organization hated anyone who wasn’t a native Japanese, myself included.

That is why, if you find a good teacher—one who is not only technically proficient but also a decent human being—you stay with him or her. They are not the norm, just as excellence is not the norm in any endeavor. But in such a short lifetime, why not seek excellence? Anything less wouldn’t be worth it.

Learn more in our latest article.

Looking to Join a Martial Arts Organization?

SMAA is a martial arts organization for all martial artists who want to be part of a community of dedicating to keeping the spirit of budo alive. If you love your art and want to share it with others, give us a call at (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form to talk about joining!

Wise Masters: Fact or Fiction?

Do you think of martial arts masters as fonts of wisdom?

Here’s what Sensei Wayne Muromoto has to say:

One of the notions that many people have is that martial arts masters are wise in the ways of the world. The appeal of the original Karate Kid movies, starring the late Pat Noriyuki Morita, or the Kung Fu series starring David Carradine, lay partly in the fact that the martial arts teachers could not only kick butt, but also dispensed wisdom as they kicked butt. 

That’s a nice positive stereotype—but not always true, unfortunately. And it’s one we have to guard against as martial arts students looking for good instruction. Budo sensei are not necessarily good personal role models, those movies notwithstanding.

The basic concern of most martial arts training is becoming technically proficient in one’s art style. Of course, in budo, it is hoped that by adhering to this long and arduous regime of physical and mental self-discipline, one’s spirit also is polished and refined as a matter of course.

Learn more in our latest article.

Looking to Join a Martial Arts Organization?

SMAA is a martial arts organization for all martial artists who want to be part of a community of dedicating to keeping the spirit of budo alive. If you love your art and want to share it with others, give us a call at (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form to talk about joining!