Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took a class with samurai artist Tetsuro Shimaguchi to learn the art of sword fighting in Tokyo, ahead of the Japan Grand Prix on Sunday. Hamilton, 41, who drives for Ferrari, shared a series of training pictures to his 42.7 million followers on Instagram.

He also shared how the experience reminded him of his karate classes as a child. “Our lesson took me way back to when I did karate as a little kid. I started having lessons to help me handle bullies at school,” Hamilton wrote in the caption. The post garnered over 1.5 million ‘likes’ a few hours after being uploaded.