Grading time

[Gohanssj]

Im new to kendo, but Im wondering, how long does one take to get to the first Kyu level , and then how do you progress through them? through your instructor? how long did it take some people to progress through these stages? please dont just give me a website saying all this stuff that i wouldnt understand cause you must know im just only learning and wish to learn from another kendo student.

[mystic_kendoka]

first of all, kyu levels are in reverse order... the first kyu is actually the level just before shodan (1st dan or 1st black belt)

depending on the dojo, you start differently... some start at 10 some at 6, usually at 6 though.. you start at 6th kyu, then 5th, then 4th... etc. then you get to shodan, nidan, sandan, etc.

for how long it takes, it depends on when your first exam is... i have an exam on 11th of february for my 5th kyu.... hope it goes well...

it doesnt take very long to get your kyu level...

[Prof.Wizard]

depending on the dojo, you start differently... some start at 10 some at 6, usually at 6 though.. you start at 6th kyu, then 5th, then 4th... etc. then you get to shodan, nidan, sandan, etc.Am I missing something here (http://www.kendo.org.uk/articles/gradguide.shtml)? Seems at British Kendo Association the first grade is 1st Kyu... :confused2
OK, it says something about "first grade where examinations are taken...", so the previous (lower Kyu) grades don't have exams to advance?

[Gohanssj]

first of all, kyu levels are in reverse order... the first kyu is actually the level just before shodan (1st dan or 1st black belt)

depending on the dojo, you start differently... some start at 10 some at 6, usually at 6 though.. you start at 6th kyu, then 5th, then 4th... etc. then you get to shodan, nidan, sandan, etc.

for how long it takes, it depends on when your first exam is... i have an exam on 11th of february for my 5th kyu.... hope it goes well...

it doesnt take very long to get your kyu level...

yeah i was kinda wonderin why i always saw 10th to 1st instead of 1st to 10th, ohwell i hope the instructor starts me at 6th, it would take a while to start at 10th and work form there.

[nodaka]

the system for gratting in kendo was put together oin 1913 by the All Japanese Kendo Federation. Kendo's main governing body. this is what all kendoka should follow. adults usually strart at around 5th to 4th kyu. lower kyu's like 10th to 6th are usyallly for children. i teach kendo and this is how i test my students.

[mystic_kendoka]

the british kendo association probably allow dojo sensei's to act as judges for examinations below ikkyu, in belgium for ikkyu and above, you need to have an official national or internation panel of judges...

[JSchmidt]

The British Kendo Association follows the same grading system as the AJKF..first adult grade is ikkyu. Some dojo's do the lower kyu-grades internally and at some seminars there will be an 'open' grading, aimed at young beginners, where they will be 'given' a kyu grade from 6th to 2nd kyu.
I've practiced kendo in a fair number of countries and the ikkyu level seems to be reasonably consistent all over.

[Gohanssj]

but ikkyu is the one just before shodan, how could they just start one level before black belt?

[JSchmidt]

Because western people put far too much emphasis on the 'magical' blackbelt (shodan). Shodan is still considered a beginners grade.

[Gohanssj]

oh i didnt mean that its just i thawt we started at kyu 6 or somthing, ohwell

[Gohanssj]

umm is it up to the teacher to give you gradings? or what?

[JSchmidt]

It depends on the federation and the dojo.
Not sure how it works in Australia.
Here in NZ, the dojo can grade up to 2nd kyu, Ikkyu and above has to be done in front of a panel.

[tango]

but ikkyu is the one just before shodan, how could they just start one level before black belt?

As mentioned, it varies by federation.
What you may be assuming is that someone JUST starting kendo automatically starts off as ikkyu (or nikyu). That's not really the case.
Fact is, you really start off with NO rank... and when you go to your first promotional in front of a panel with NO rank, they will basically dictate what "rank" or level they believe you are. If you've been doing kendo for 8 months and your sensei says you're ok to go to the testing, and if the panel says "You are ikkyu!", then you are ikkyu and that's it.

Some people may not have the means (financial or otherwise) to travel to a testing. They may actually do kendo for several years before they EVER test for anything. And when they show up at their first promotional, they have no rank... And even though they might be able to destroy every shodan or nidan on that day, they will not be awarded higher than the rank of ikkyu because you must hold the rank of ikkyu before you can test for shodan. So for some folks, ikkyu can be and sometimes is their first "rank". I don't find it peculiar in any way.

The ranking system is not like what you find in American karate or taekwondo schools or whatever. Until you start getting up in the dan ranks, nobody really cares (or maybe, nobody SHOULD care) what anyone's rank it. In the greater scheme of things, it doesn't matter. All that matters is how good your kendo is (or is becoming) and how positive an influence kendo is having on your life.
When you do jigeiko or go to a tournament or something like that, nobody cares what rank you are. You're just as likely to find yourself standing in front of a go-dan as you are a sankyu.

You may notice that kendo players do not wear ANY sign/symbol of their "rank". Anywhere! And I find that to be VERY good.

My advice: Forget about rank. Just do kendo.

Rank will come as your kendo develops, so don't worry about it. It would take an absolute MINIMUM of about 11 years for someone to reach yondan or godan (that assumes you went from complete newbie to shodan in just one year, and that you also tested on time whenever you were ready to test by time-standards AND that you PASSED every testing on the first try....and you know all of that ain't gonna happen). And at some dojos, yondans are a dime a dozen and they get their butts kicked just as regularly as the ikkyus.

I don't mean to sound harsh here, but who would you rather be -----> the sandan that does weak kendo and gets his ass kicked every week by everybody? Or would you rather be the shodan whose kendo is so strong that even the yondans think twice before jumping blindly in to attack him?

Again, rank doesn't matter. Kendo matters.

Do kendo. Let rank worry about rank.

[mystic_kendoka]

you can skip ranks? do you dont necessarily have to go 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,?

does that mean that if someon is ikkyu. and on the next exam, the judges dont think youre that good and say you're nikyu, do you become nikyu? or not?

[Chopstix]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the state of New South Wales (Australia), even kyu grades below ikkyu are graded in front of a panel. Have a look at the Australian Kendo Renmei (http://www.kendoaustralia.asn.au/) website (under grading results). I presume that this is true for all Australian states.

[Will]

you can skip ranks? do you dont necessarily have to go 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,?

does that mean that if someon is ikkyu. and on the next exam, the judges dont think youre that good and say you're nikyu, do you become nikyu? or not?

No you fail the shodan test. And yes, you can skip ranks....

[twotoedgiraffe]

I was unranked and didn't go test for the past two or so years until a few weekends ago and got "ranked". Make sure you mark that your status is "Open" whenever you go to your first promotion I was told by several people and you tell them how long you've been practising. After you get ranked, I thought then apparently you have to go one step at a time unless after the judges think you are qualified to test another level after watching you surpass the level you want to go up to. You'll find out anyway 2 minutes after if you're gonna fail or not. I gathered that there were 10 different levels kyu before shodan, though 5 really that mattered. But then I gathered from a few guys that all the kyus didn't mean diddly anyway as shodan and the rest of the dans were what people aspired to.

Anyway, a few things I reflected back after the promotional test was that it's important to get ranked as it will serve to give a kendoist what he/she should aspire and work up to for the next level. After the promotional test, I will be looking (should have started long ago) into regular practice to learn the katas to reach the Shodan level. I hadn't really given it much thought before this promotion. Another way of looking at the promotions was that even though I was aiming for a higher Kyu and didn't get that rank, there must have been flaws in my kendo that I have to adjust. Before the next opportunity for a promotion, I will try to correct the flaws I presented. Going to the promotion itself was well worth the trip aside from the rankings and all that jive. I gained insights from other sensei's learning from them, practiced with various levels, and met people in the local regional area I can visit with later when I travel there for either work related reason or specifically to practice.