Pawan Kalyan awarded ‘Tiger of Martial Arts’ title and inducted into Kenjutsu Samurai tradition

Exam-focused facts from the 15 January 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

Pawan Kalyan was formally inducted into Kenjutsu, the ancient Japanese art of swordsmanship, becoming one of the very few Indians to enter the Samurai martial arts tradition outside Japan.
He received the Fifth Dan by the Sogo Budo Kanri Kai, making him the first Indian celebrity to receive this honour.
He was inducted into the Takeda Shingen Clan under Soke Muramatsu Sensei, becoming the first Telugu-speaking person and one of the very few non-Japanese to enter this Samurai lineage.
The Golden Dragons organisation conferred on him the title ‘Tiger of Martial Arts’.