Sensei is a Japanese word literally meaning person born before, and by extension teacher or master. It is used across many fields in Japan, from schoolteachers to doctors, but in a martial arts context it refers specifically to the instructor leading the class. The title is normally placed after the person's family name, as in Tanaka sensei, rather than before it.
In the dojo, sensei is used as a direct form of address and as a sign of respect for someone's experience and responsibility for teaching, not as a permanent rank in itself. Some schools reserve other Japanese titles, such as shihan or renshi, for more senior instructors, while sensei remains the everyday term students use in class. New students are generally expected to pick up how their own school addresses instructors within the first few sessions.
Etiquette around addressing a sensei is part of the wider culture of a dojo, alongside bowing and other customs. Our martial arts overview explains how these traditions vary between styles.
