hi i am a beginner

[calvinc]

Hi everyone.. i just started learning kendo a week ago.. my question is how long does it take in general for a beginner to be ready for his first examination. Thank you :smiley:

[Lloromannic]

It really depends on the dedication and time invested by the student but even more it depends on the dojo you are. Some dojos have tests every few months some once a year, some do kyu tests from 6 to 1 some only test for first kyu. In some you can "skip" kyus and in others you have to make a test for every kyu. For a very good thread on the subject search for a thread called "from nothing to shodan". I'd search it for you but my search function is not working at the moment.

[taganahan]

depends on the dojo you are. some dojos have examinations every now and then. at the dojo where i am practicing, murao sensei gives us the ranks for 0-2nd kyu. 1st kyu and up are all examinations.


~taganahan

[Bob the Blade]

where are you practicing kendo?

[calvinc]

Thanx Lloromannic and taganahan. If you don't mind.. could you please explain to me the ranking system. :) .. as you can see.. i am very new to this :redface:. For example what do 2nd kyu and 1st kyu mean? What's the highest and lowest grade in Kendo. Thank you so much :smiley:

Calvin

[calvinc]

where are you practicing kendo?at my university.. University of Toronto Kendo Club

[Sentunim]

Some people at my dojo in ontario were tested like 2 weeks after they started and still got like 8th kyu. They just knew teh basics like suriashi and men and stuf like that though

[Haowen]

Some people at my dojo in ontario were tested like 2 weeks after they started and still got like 8th kyu. They just knew teh basics like suriashi and men and stuf like that though

8th Kyu? I thought the lowest was 6th...

Calvinc: the kyu grades go from 0 (no grade) 6,5,4,3,2,1 kyu, then 1-dan, 2,3,4 and so on.

[Lloromannic]

Kyu levels are the equivalent to the colured belts in other martial arts. Dan levels are the "black belts". However these mean a bit different in Kendo than in Karate or Judo. Whereas you usually get shodan (Black belt) in two or three years in Kendo. In Karate it can take a long time. Also people with shodan are not "masters". They are "advanced beginners".

[taganahan]

the highest possible ranks are 9th dan and 10th dan. these ranks are one of those ranks which are given to you if you have one of those "god like abilities". meaning, quite impossible to attain but still do-able.

~taganahan

[Pauly]

the highest possible ranks are 9th dan and 10th dan. these ranks are one of those ranks which are given to you if you have one of those "god like abilities". meaning, quite impossible to attain but still do-able.

~taganahan9th and 10th dan? I've heard of those ranks in aikido but in kendo?...

I agree with Lloromannic: 1st dan in kendo only recognizes that you know about the fundamentals. You progress in rank as these fundamentals are perfected. That is why I hesitate to call the dan levels in kendo "Black Belts."

Anyway, for me, it is not the rank you hold but how less bad you get beaten up by the more senior members in the club (I can tell I'm climbin'!).

[Neil Gendzwill]

10th dan hasn't been awarded for decades. They stopped awarding 9th dan a couple of years ago. 8th dan is now the highest rank you can attain.

Shodan in kendo represents 2 or 3 years of twice a week practice. That should tell you about where the level is at. "Beginner who's shown some commitment" is about what I'd call it.

[calvinc]

Thanks everyone :smiley:

[Lloromannic]

10th dan hasn't been awarded for decades. They stopped awarding 9th dan a couple of years ago. 8th dan is now the highest rank you can attain. Too bad. I was confident I could get 9th at the very least :D. I'm sure they will make an exception in my case.


So are there still 9 dans alive? I thought they had stopped giving 9th at the same time they stopped giving tenth. Is there some sort of competition between 9th dans . Sort of like the Hachidan embu?