Interesting point, did you ever mention this to Glenn the many times he's done the same thing? Or can some people look at this topic and some can't? How about a level playing field for one and all.
This isn't about my policing your posts and not his; you explicitly said that you were not pointing fingers or raising red flags. I disagree. That isn't a criticism; people point fingers and raise red flags all the time. GM Ji is a public figure. He runs a large organization. His rank isn't secret, nor is the way in which is was obtained. Thus it is open to public discussion and if someone wants to point fingers or raise red flags then so be it. If you are going to start your own branch of a martial art and run a large organization, that sort of thing is part of the job.
If you are referring to the back and forth that the two of you have been having for the past two years, I'm not touching that.
Sure it does, by way of comparison between arts, cultures, various seniors and their motiviation(s).
No, it doesn't. For one, this topic is not about comparison of Ji as an eighth dan to Kano as an eighth dan; it is about whether or not Ji's eighth dan is valid within the context of hapkido. You called attention to the rapidity of Ji's promotion and then made comments about his branch of hapkido and asked about how it stacks up with other branches of hapkido.
For another, comparison of rank between completely different arts, while certainly a valid topic of discussion, is in no way related to the validity of rank issued within a given art.
So really, it is back to whether or not someone in their mid-20's with around 16 years of training really warrants an 8th Dan. If so, why? If not, why? And yes, we can compare it to other arts as in some way, shape or form they are interconnected.
That is basically what it comes down to. Though while there is a general interconnectedness between arts, it is not in such a way that it would be relevant in this discussion. What would be relevant is to look at grading norms of the Korean arts of the day.
To further the discussion, not counting the earlier mentioned individual that went from white belt to 6th Dan in 4 years, using at least the semi-recognized standard of perhaps 1 year per Dan level for TIG i.e. 1st to 2nd = 1 year, 2nd to 3rd = 3 years etc, GM Ji would have been around a 5th Dan. Give or take.
I had asked this question in my previous response: were the time in grade 'norms' that we are familiar with in place at that time?
Since he was the 'founder' (a term I'm using loosely), everyone else would have been under him in TIG/TIA. So if he is a 'founder', why not just go to 10th?
Not all arts have a tenth dan and not all that do designate tenth dan as founder/soke/head of system. For example, KKW Taekwondo has a tenth dan ranking, but it is unrelated to being a founder or head of the system.
Why not progress in a natural progression as anyone else would be expected to do? Is accelerated TIG permissible for a founder? Should they just assume the top position without any progression? And if it was done then...why would anyone have a problem with it now?
If you found a system, you are beyond rank. You may assign yourself any rank you wish. Its like asking if a kid out of high school who 'founds' his own business has the right to call himself president of the company without having gone through the stages of employee, assistant manager, manager, district manager, regional manager, divisional VP, and VP before assigning himself the title.
Now, whether or not he's qualified to run a business is another matter, and only time will tell; the business will either be successful or will fold.
Back to GM Ji, was it permissible for him to do what he did? Sure. Its basically what Kano and Bruce Lee did; Lee just didn't used dan grades. You could do the same. And I'd base my opinion of you as head of your system on your ability to practice your system and on the soundness of your system.
Dan grades ultimately are arbitrary. They are set to represent a specific level of training and responsibility, but that level varries from art to art and from organization to organization within an art.
So the real question is not how long it took GM Ji to go from zero to eighth dan. The question is how sound is Sin Moo hapkido and how effective has GM Ji been over the past several decades in his capacity as head of Sin Moo hapkido.
