• Hakko Densho Ryu, Menkyo Kaiden Shihan Sandai Kichu
• Hakko Densho Ryu Martial Arts Federation, Inheritor
• Nishio-ryu Toho Iaido, Sandan
• Soshoryu Heihodo Iaido, Nidan

Dara Masi began her study of the martial arts in 1986. In 1994, Masi Shihan opened Suigetsu Dojo and along with the co-owner, Melanie Fine, Shihan and together they ran the school in New York for 17 years before moving to Northern California. After achieving Shodan rank in Jujutsu, she met with Dennis Palumbo, Shihan and began formal training in Hakko Densho Ryu Jujutsu. After many years of intense study, often privately with Palumbo Shihan, and many trips from New York to Denver, Palumbo Shihan awarded her the rank of Menkyo Kaiden Shihan San Dai Kichu in 2007. Upon his death, Masi Shihan was named the inheritor of Hakko Densho Ryu and the head of the Hakko Densho Ryu Martial Arts Federation.

Masi Shihan is also an instructor of both Iaido and Hojojutsu. She currently trains in Nishio-ryu Toho Iaido as a student of Joji Yoshida Shihan and Michele Benzamin-Miki Sensei. Hojojutsu is a traditional Japanese martial art which includes techniques to restrain a person with rope. Hojojutsu is an obscure art, rarely taught in the U.S. She developed a Hojojutsu curriculum as part of an advanced study of Jujutsu and Iaido, preserving the reality of disarm, takedown, control, and restraint.

Masi Shihan is a lifetime member of Jujitsu America, National Women’s Martial Arts Federation, and Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists; and a member of the American Judo and Jujitsu Federation. She is a co-founder and lifetime member of the Association of Women Martial Arts Instructors. Masi Shihan was inducted into the Jujitsu America Black Belt Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2016 she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists and inducted into the Association of Women Martial Arts Instructors’ Hall of Fame recognizing 30+ years of training.

Masi Shihan continues to teach classes in Hakko Densho Ryu Jujutsu, Nishio-ryu Toho Iaido, and Hojojutsu. She is now based at the Suigetsu Dojo California, in Placerville, CA and regularly travels around the country to present seminars for schools and national events.