NEWPORT, N.H. – Brent Baker, the owner and lead instructor of Rising Sun Martial Arts in Newport, N.H., was awarded the teaching grade of “Hanshi,” or Chief Grand Master Instructor, the highest teaching title in the Japanese martial arts. The promotion was announced on Sunday, May 15, 2022 during the opening ceremonies of the 40th Annual Shidokan USA invitational tournament in Londonderry, N.H.
In traditional karate, it can take years of teaching experience to earn the grade of “Sensei” (licensed instructor) – and not everyone who trains in karate chooses to teach, so teaching grades are separate from belt ranks. While belt ranks, such as degrees of black belt, are based on one’s knowledge of the art, teaching grades, which often have belt-rank prerequisites, are based on what one does to pass the knowledge on and ensure the future of the art. Beyond the level of Sensei lies “Renshi” (Senior Instructor), “Shihan” (Master Instructor), and “Kyoshi” (Grand Master Instructor, similar in scope to a full college professor). The Hanshi grade is the highest of the traditional teaching grades, and requires that one hold the rank of at least 8th degree black belt. There are ten degrees of Black Belt in traditional karate.
Mr. Baker started training in 1984, at the age of ten, under the tutelage of Richard Bernard, president of the Shidokan International Karate-do/Kobu-do Training and Research Federation. Over the years, Mr. Baker has taught hundreds of students, trained multiple tournament champions, besides being one himself, and earned black belt ranking in four different styles of martial arts. In addition to teaching karate, he is a science teacher in the town of Sunapee.
“I once saw an interview with Teruo Chinen, a famous karate teacher from Okinawa,” said Baker. “In it, Chinen Sensei compares the level of Renshi to that of a professional school teacher and Kyoshi to that of a professor. Hanshi, he said, meant ‘good example’ – living your life in such a way that you are a good example to the people around you. So, really, this promotion is a challenge: to live up to the responsibilities that go with this title.” And while Sunday saw Baker being elevated to the highest teaching grade in the traditional martial arts, on Monday morning he was wiping down desks in his classroom and preparing to teach seventh graders about rocks.