Interesting Fact...10th Degree Black Belt in Karate

[AnonymousOne]

In Kyokushinkai one can only achieve 10th Dan posthumosley. This is in honor of Sosai Oyama, who as originator of the style, was only a 10th Dan.

 

The highest you can go is 9th Dan before you die.

 

So any Kyokushin claiming to be 10th Dan, or higher is either lying, or dishonoring the memory of Sosai Oyama.

 

I really think that most of the concept of ranking should be done away with. Maybe just have ten ranks total ( including the kyu ranks.) (oh, then american dojo's would end up losing students left and right, oh well... I still think it is a good idea.)

 

Things have really gotten too far out of hand.

 

Who graded Oyama to 10th Dan?

[pers]

Our late chief instructer master Eneada recieved his 8th dan from JKA in 1977 and after that he refused to accept any higher grade .Even though he was chief instructer of JKA in europe as well .

 

I would not personally pay any attention to these self claimed 10th dans ,it is the ability of their karate that concerns me.

 

In other words action speak louder than words!

[cathal]

I think I'll make up a style...um...cathal Do Karate, and just now I've made myself an 11th Dan! *looks around* Damn nothing changed. 12th Dan! Ah-ha! I feel more powerful! No, wait that was a hiccup. *sigh*

[Densetsu Bushi]

One of the last, and greatest martial arts masters of our time, and a lifelong and very active practioner of Shorinryu Matsumura Seito Karate was the late OSensei Soken Hohan. OSensei was, I believe, 93 years old when he died and had begun his study of this system when he was 16 or so. OSensei taught classes up until the last few years of his life, and IMHO, I believe he was a legitimate 10th Dan Master of his system. As other sensei's that I know have told me (I don't know firsthand), OSensei was bouncing young men around the dojo while he was in his late 80's with little effort.

 

I agree that there are FAR to many 10th Dans in this world, and just because you start your own system doesn't automatically make you that rank IMHO. It needs to be after a lifetime (40-60 years old is NOT a lifetime!) of study of the art....ANY art!

 

I remember reading in Black Belt Magazine years ago that there are more "10th Degree Masters" in ANY major city in the USA then there are in the entire Orient. I lived in Houston for 6 months and have travelled a fair amount around this country, and I believe it! Just look at the yellow pages in any large city (NYC, LA, Chicago, Houston or Atlanta for example) and you will see tons of "10th Dan Masters" out there.

 

BAH!

 

yes, and as far as i know, he(OSensei Soken Hohan) trained Sensei Fumio Demura, and Sensei Demura trained my origeonal Sensei, in the Shorin Ryu style, Sensei Cam Stuart, and i have had the honor of having several seminars with Sensei Demura

[Karate-addict]

Our late chief instructer master Eneada recieved his 8th dan from JKA in 1977 and after that he refused to accept any higher grade .Even though he was chief instructer of JKA in europe as well .

 

I would not personally pay any attention to these self claimed 10th dans ,it is the ability of their karate that concerns me.

 

In other words action speak louder than words!

You are probably talking about Keinosuke Enoeda, or am I wrong?

[pers]

Our late chief instructer master Eneada recieved his 8th dan from JKA in 1977 and after that he refused to accept any higher grade .Even though he was chief instructer of JKA in europe as well .

 

I would not personally pay any attention to these self claimed 10th dans ,it is the ability of their karate that concerns me.

 

In other words action speak louder than words!

You are probably talking about Keinosuke Enoeda, or am I wrong?

 

Yes .indeed ! master enoeda , I had the honour of training under his guidence a number of times .

[MASIsshinryu]

IMHO the rank of 10th Dan signifies, or should signify, an absolutely complete level of mastery. As such, only the founder of a style can realisticly hold such a title. It seems to me that when one formally creates a style, it is the product of not just a lifetime of training received from highly skilled instructors, but influeced by one's own life experiences. Given the fact that no two people could possibly share a lifetime of experiences (barring conjoined twins), I cannot imagine a situaiton where every single thought, intention, nuance and idea is completely communicated even to a chosen successor.

 

In short, my feeling is that each style should have a single 10th Dan, and out of respect for that person no others should make claims above 9th. Even those should be unique and rare individuals.

[yamesu]

Thats the way it goes in Kyokushin, as previously mentioned,

 

and is also the reason OyamaSosai was 10th Dan upon creating the style.

 

Osu.