What grade do you hold

[David J]

Aside from the debate on its relevance, just curious to see what grade we're currently all at.

<rei>

Dave

[durrell4]

Should cross reference the poll on number of years in kendo? That would be interesting...

[David J]

...and also give us the answer to the "how long til Shodan?" thread :D

<rei>

Dave

[Jerry Wellbrock]

I have been training less than one year in kendo....I have no rank....a true beginner......but I have trained in other martial arts....30 years in Chito-Ryu Karate under the same instructor Hanshi William J. Dometrich.....I hold roku-dan rank in karate recognized by the United States Chito-Kai and the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai.....I well remember having the desire to reach shodan level as if something magic was going to occur and I try hard to remember the importance of that when I teach and try to encourage younger students not to get hung up on the rank but to just train and the rank will come in time.....I know that is easy to say after 30 years.....but it is true that shoden is really just the beginning in any martial art...keep a beginners mind is an old saying and to keep and empty mind is to allow room for new ideas....to me shodan and each further promotion only meant that I now had to work harder and had more responsibility that went along with the promotion.....my goal in kendo is just to train and enjoy and grow....both in kendo and personally...Thanks Jerry:cool:

[lewis]

Well said, Jerry.

[kumakage]

hello,

As for myself I have trained in kendo fro about two years and never officially ranked. Then again I didnt join the kendo federation like most of the peolpe I trained with who did rank. to me personally rank has never really mattered to me much. What has mattered was the knowledge I gained from training. Right now I hold a shodan in aikijutsu,and ikkyu in ninjustu. Like I said to me rank has never really mattered. but then again some people get into martial arts for all the wrong reasons mainly to say "I have a balck belt and you don't". I guess that's just my opinon.
Manny

[durrell4]

thankfully in Kendo you are as good as you are, but rank is something to work for. Yes there are a few people who might say I have sho-dan in this and that, but you know when you practice with them if they are any good or not. As I said in an other tread, rank can be used in motivating younger students.

[David J]

Thanks to all who have voted.

The shape of the graph above makes me think we have a truly representative forum ie more ikkyu than shodan, more shodan than nidan etc. Good to see a broad section of newbies, but some guys out there from the higher ranks

Cool :D

<rei>

Dave

[George Brown]

Personally I think that gradings are a great way to see how much one has progressed - but they not the be-all and end-all of the art. Taking part in a seminar (pre-grading) always meant more to me......

There are practioners out there who:

1. Can't afford to take the gradings (and who are proficient at that particular level)

2. Don't place much weight on the grading certificate.

....gradings didn't exist 300years ago???

For example some may take (and pass) a Shodan grading after (say) a year, some may not take the same grading for (say 6) years. I truly believe that it is the number of hours one commits to practice which counts, and shows in the individual.

I say this as someone who has not practiced for what must be about five years now - but at one point I was training some 5-6times each week - so flame suit on - what do others think?

[Karaken]

I know there's at least one Nana Dan on this forum but who voted for Hachi-Dan?

Center

[moetl]

ummm, nobody voted for nana- or hachidan. the chart is a little bit confusing though - there is a very short bar despite zero votes...

[Andoru]

There is a vote for hachidan.

[moetl]

at the time i wrote this reply, there was no vote. i should have added "YET" ;)

[Hai_hai]

Sorry for the confusion. I voted for hachidan. There wasn't a place to vote for my actual ranking... san-ju roku dan... that's 36 dan for you little people.

[moocow65]

Kendo: 16 years
Rank: 3-Dan
I'm going try to attain the title of "3-Dan Hanshi." Maybe after that I will test for 4-Dan. But as for now, it's 3-Dan for life.

[KhawMengLee]

Shodan now baby! Yeah!! :ogre:

[bginop]

may i ask why? I mean why stop just at 3, even though rank has nothing to do with your skill level why just stop?

[Jamie]

Eternal Student.......................

[kawa]

Sorry for the confusion. I voted for hachidan. There wasn't a place to vote for my actual ranking... san-ju roku dan... that's 36 dan for you little people.


You are an Idiot!

[Shogun97]

I'm doing Kendo for one month now.......and I haven't got a clue what these rankes are or what they are good for!!!
I want to know!!!!
Can anyone tell me. PLEASE.

[bginop]

Ohh geeze i had a really good essay on rank and then i hit the back button on my mouse and it erased it all. So i am just going to sum it all up.

Ranks: First off you start off as nothing or no rank. (Ie like you are right now.) Then after a year or so you should get your bogu and start training kendo for real. (Ie getting your bogu the time frame depends on the dojo and your teacher.)

So after you have gotten your bogu; either the dojo will promote you through the kyu ranks or you will have to do it formally at a seminar. And depending on your dojo the Kyu ranks will always go backwards from 10kyu - 1kyu but some dojos start rank at kyu 6 - kyu1. From there you reach shodan or first dan then so on to hachidan then if you can even reach hachidan then you can proceed to 9-10 dan that is to say you live from 70 and beyond.

But you see i just finished watching the testing process of obtaining hachidan. There were over 750 canadiates testing for hachidan some of their ages ranging from 50-80 years of age. You see some of the canadates have been testing for hachidan for 25years and some have been testing for 4years.

Testing for dan is not an easy task. According to the newest members of hachidan. They say kendo is not how fast you move or how strong you are, but kendo is all about the mind and how flexable your mind is. Flexablilty in the mind means your ability to notice and accept error then learn how to iron out your error through your practice.

So you see kendo is kinda like chess. The two oponents are trying to control one area, both in chess and in kendo then once there is an opening you take it. But kendo is not like a mindless slashing or just on onslaught of killing, because you see the most that is ever going to give you is a stailmate.

So expressing your skill of control over your mind, rank is one way to do that. That is not saying that through high rank your mind is stronger than anyone elses who has been practicing kendo. What that is saying is your goals are different than others and achieving high rank is appart of your experience through kendo.

[Mr.Tvola]

Ohh geeze i had a really good essay on rank and then i hit the back button on my mouse and it erased it all. So i am just going to sum it all up.

Ranks: First off you start off as nothing or no rank. (Ie like you are right now.) Then after a year or so you should get your bogu and start training kendo for real. (Ie getting your bogu the time frame depends on the dojo and your teacher.)

So after you have gotten your bogu; either the dojo will promote you through the kyu ranks or you will have to do it formally at a seminar. And depending on your dojo the Kyu ranks will always go backwards from 10kyu - 1kyu but some dojos start rank at kyu 6 - kyu1. From there you reach shodan or first dan then so on to hachidan then if you can even reach hachidan then you can proceed to 9-10 dan that is to say you live from 70 and beyond.

But you see i just finished watching the testing process of obtaining hachidan. There were over 750 canadiates testing for hachidan some of their ages ranging from 50-80 years of age. You see some of the canadates have been testing for hachidan for 25years and some have been testing for 4years.

Testing for dan is not an easy task. According to the newest members of hachidan. They say kendo is not how fast you move or how strong you are, but kendo is all about the mind and how flexable your mind is. Flexablilty in the mind means your ability to notice and accept error then learn how to iron out your error through your practice.

So you see kendo is kinda like chess. The two oponents are trying to control one area, both in chess and in kendo then once there is an opening you take it. But kendo is not like a mindless slashing or just on onslaught of killing, because you see the most that is ever going to give you is a stailmate.

So expressing your skill of control over your mind, rank is one way to do that. That is not saying that through high rank your mind is stronger than anyone elses who has been practicing kendo. What that is saying is your goals are different than others and achieving high rank is appart of your experience through kendo.

9th and 10th were repealed, highest grade is now 8th in Kendo, Iaido, Jodo

[bginop]

ohh i guess the kendo usa webpage needs to update their page then. :old_man:

[Hai_hai]

You are an Idiot!
No need to be jealous.

[Curtis]

ohh i guess the kendo usa webpage needs to update their page then. :old_man:
No, it does not. Those are the IKF regulations which are still in effect. Japan has changed their regulations to remove 9 and 10 dan.

[sminki]

No, it does not. Those are the IKF regulations which are still in effect. Japan has changed their regulations to remove 9 and 10 dan.

I don't know if Japan has actually changed regulations. From what I've heard, some 9 dan senseis voluntarily returned their 9 dan status, but some did not. So there still are 9 dan sensei in Japan. Maybe the regulations were changed so that no more 9 dan will be given in the future.

[Catherine]

On the question of why there are gradings, gradings can help people sharpen their kendo skills.

The grading panel looks for you to show certain things in your kendo for each grade. Often if a person doesn't go for gradings, they are not 'expected' within their training environment (and sometimes also by themselves) to show the skill set for a higher grade. There is less pressure on them and it can mean that they don't progress as fast as they otherwise could.

Also a grading examination is a good chance to focus your mind on examining your kendo and what needs to be improved. You then get pretty much instant feedback on how well you have managed to improve those items at the grading.

The grading mindset is a different mindset to the shiai mindset, because the object is not to score a point at all costs - it is to show your best kendo (and score points while doing so). Even if you score the requisite points in the jigeko component of the shiai, if your form is lacking, you may not pass to the next stage of the grading.

It lets you look at more subtle areas of your kendo and the fear of not progressing through the tournament if you lose is less.

Catherine

[Kendoka]

9th and 10th were repealed, highest grade is now 8th in Kendo, Iaido, Jodo

The above is populalry believed - but is not correct.
The current IKF Standard Rules for Grading (effective July 2003) show that the "physical exam" requirements only have been removed and that the 9 and 10th dan grades can be awarded by kendo organisations under their own rules.

Richard