10th Dan?
- Thread starter SamT
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Meitetsu
Yellow Belt
I found a book that talks about the Kendo 8th Dan test (passing rate 1%). Some of the highlights:
Case studies of people who passed.
#1
Mr. Kamei亀井
Passed on the first test.
“I was transferred out into the country and didn’t have regular access to training. I worked on maintaining my leg strength before my test. Even if I had to work late, I would stop at a park on my way home and do sets of sprints.”
[FONT=HGS行書体]八段
[FONT=HGS行書体] [/FONT]
[FONT=HGS行書体]8 dan[/FONT][FONT=HGS行書体] [/FONT]
[/FONT][FONT=HGS行書体]8 dan[/FONT][FONT=HGS行書体] [/FONT]
“With a passing rate of just one percent, what kind of training did the people who passed do? We add up the質 shitsu or quality and　量 ryō or volume of their 稽古keiko.”
Case studies of people who passed.
#1
Mr. Kamei亀井
Passed on the first test.
“I was transferred out into the country and didn’t have regular access to training. I worked on maintaining my leg strength before my test. Even if I had to work late, I would stop at a park on my way home and do sets of sprints.”
Meitetsu
Yellow Belt
I heard this lady got 10th dan but upon investigating it was from the American Judo association not the Japanese one.
Keiko Fukuda (福田 敬子 Fukuda Keiko, born April 12, 1913) is the highest-ranked female judo practitioner in history, holding the rank of 9th dan from the Kodokan and the United States Judo Federation (USJF), and 10th dan from USA Judo, and is the last surviving student of Kanō Jigorō, founder of judo. She is a renowned pioneer of women's judo, being the first woman promoted to 6th dan (c. 1972), and later 9th dan (2006), by the Kodokan. She is also the first and, so far, only woman promoted to 10th dan in the art.[SUP][8][/SUP] After completing her formal education in Japan, Fukuda visited the United States of America to teach in the 1950s and 1960s, and eventually settled there. She continues to teach her art in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Mauthos
2nd Black Belt
Just found this thread and having skim read it I don't particularly have any issue, just found it interesting.
Sure, it should be hard work to get to 10th Dan in any art (if attainable) and generally the guys that do are in their 60's. For example the heads of my Kenpo organisation in the UK and Ireland are, P. Kennedy - 10th Dan (64), J. Birch - 9th Dan (57), A. Fitzgerald - 8th Dan (63).
However, you only grade to 6th Dan in this association and with the minimum time requirements this should take 20 years (from 1st Dan) so essentially if you managed the minimum of approximately 4 years to 1st, it should take you a minimum of 24 years to get to 6th Dan.
Now this isn't always going to be the way, I achieved my 1st Dan relatively quickly (3.5 years), however, due to time out because of work and injury I only achieved my 2nd Dan this year, 6 years after my 1st. It doesn't bother me, but it does mean that I still have 18 years to go to get to the dizzy heights of 6th Dan which will make me 53 and then it is a guess as when I will be deemed worthy to be awarded further rankings.
The reason why I am waffling is that after 6th Dan there is no prerequisite time to your next Dan grade, it is mainly awarded on your contributions to the art, what you have done, how you have promoted it etc.
We have a 6th Dan, J. o'Keefe (SP?) who recently was awarded his 7th Dan and I believe he is only 40. Therefore, with the amount of classes he runs, schools that are affiliated to him and his junior instructors and the amount he does for the art etc (the guy is a work horse and a really nice guy). It is feasible that he could be awarded the remaining grades each year and therefore become a 10th Dan at 43 (however, this is very unlikely as no matter what you do it is still a long hard/fought journey to earn the awarded ranks).
Anyway, my waffle is basically to say that I can see it possible in certain arts for people to attain 10th Dan at an unusually young age.
My 2 pence.
Sure, it should be hard work to get to 10th Dan in any art (if attainable) and generally the guys that do are in their 60's. For example the heads of my Kenpo organisation in the UK and Ireland are, P. Kennedy - 10th Dan (64), J. Birch - 9th Dan (57), A. Fitzgerald - 8th Dan (63).
However, you only grade to 6th Dan in this association and with the minimum time requirements this should take 20 years (from 1st Dan) so essentially if you managed the minimum of approximately 4 years to 1st, it should take you a minimum of 24 years to get to 6th Dan.
Now this isn't always going to be the way, I achieved my 1st Dan relatively quickly (3.5 years), however, due to time out because of work and injury I only achieved my 2nd Dan this year, 6 years after my 1st. It doesn't bother me, but it does mean that I still have 18 years to go to get to the dizzy heights of 6th Dan which will make me 53 and then it is a guess as when I will be deemed worthy to be awarded further rankings.
The reason why I am waffling is that after 6th Dan there is no prerequisite time to your next Dan grade, it is mainly awarded on your contributions to the art, what you have done, how you have promoted it etc.
We have a 6th Dan, J. o'Keefe (SP?) who recently was awarded his 7th Dan and I believe he is only 40. Therefore, with the amount of classes he runs, schools that are affiliated to him and his junior instructors and the amount he does for the art etc (the guy is a work horse and a really nice guy). It is feasible that he could be awarded the remaining grades each year and therefore become a 10th Dan at 43 (however, this is very unlikely as no matter what you do it is still a long hard/fought journey to earn the awarded ranks).
Anyway, my waffle is basically to say that I can see it possible in certain arts for people to attain 10th Dan at an unusually young age.
My 2 pence.
As was mentioned early on in the thread and I feel needs reinforcement, your personal name far precedes any rank you have on your waist. When people hear your name, that should equate to competence, not the other way around.
There is a certain criteria that precedes high rank and without this, your high rank is hollow.
There is a certain criteria that precedes high rank and without this, your high rank is hollow.
GrandmasterP
Green Belt
9th Duan is the top ranking in China under the official system covering external and internal MA that's only been around since the late nineties though.
No belts as such that I'm aware of for TaiChi or QiGong. Top people in Chinese Health QiGong Association are 9th Duan.
No belts as such that I'm aware of for TaiChi or QiGong. Top people in Chinese Health QiGong Association are 9th Duan.
Guy Preston
Orange Belt
Not necessarily, rank isn't important to Hatsumi, if you look across the Bujinkan organisation you find good and bad instructors, even in the high grade levels, i cant remember the source, but Hatsumi has spoken of this in interview and suggested it is by design (for every 500 good instructors you get 500 bad ones, or something along those lines, forgive me if I've butchered it!) take Richard Van Donk for example he is 15th Dan, his own bio says 11th Dan 2000, 12th Dan 2001, 13th Dan 2002, 14th Dan April 2004 and 15th Dan December 2004!!
Without commenting on RVD's skill level, that rate of promotion would suggest super hero ability, I don't think the YouTube clips show a Super hero in action...
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