Who's Your Sempai?
By O'Hara Hanshi (Founder of OGRKK/ Chief Instructor at Hombu Dojo)



The term sempai (senior student) is foreign to westerners only because it is Japanese. All peoples, civilized or not, have sempai, albeit by various names. This is the way members of a society succeed in a hostile world. Our parents, aunts, uncles, “dutch uncles”, certain friends and teachers – in short, anyone who has seniority or superior experience is a sempai.

We simply can’t function to the best of our abilities without advice and help, and this is where a sempai comes in. In any traditional dojo the sempai system is an inherent part of the complexity of the art being taught there. It is his/her contribution to furthering not only the skills of the kohai (junior student), but also to assure that the art will be carried into the future with all the valuable traditions.

The title sempai may be carried by yudansha (blackbelts) or mudansha (kyus). By this standard there will most likely be more sempai than kohai in the dojo. The system breaks down, however, when a sempai does not take it upon himself to single out a new or struggling student to help. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the kohai to humbly ask for assistance from a sempai.

All too often during the time before a class officially begins, there will be small groups sitting on the floor engaging in idle conversation or lounging in the spectator area sipping a soda or snacking. This is a waste of your time. There is always somebody with whom you can train or assist or, even ask for assistance. In an established dojo it is common that the more senior students and the sensei become close – this adds to the desired family feeling. All students in the dojo in the various echelons should make an effort to solidify that “family feeling”. One major caveat however; the rank gradation must be clearly maintained. If we fail to do this, what is happening around the world today will prevail. I have visited and taught in many dojo and I am sad to say that most are more like social clubs. This is demeaning to the sensei, his predecessors and the art. The role of the sempai can be instrumental in forestalling this eventuality.

The sempai system is an essential part of a traditional dojo, yet it has, in recent years, been degraded often to oblivion. As in most things, a collective mind has a far greater reach than the single mind of a leader.

I am proud of our OGRKK as we have kept faith with the principles in a miasma of a weakening society which is slowly, but surely penetrating the cracks of human frailty. We must be ever aware of the importance of our legacy and invite others to join in our efforts and by all means, not weaken in our resolve.