Rank with no affiliation

[berserkerfury]

My instructor no longer teaches Karate but had a Yondan. He primarily teaches jujitsu now. I wanted to start ranking in karate under him but Im not sure if the organization he was affiliated with exists any longer. Is affiliation really necessary?

[MasterPain]

Skill talks. What organization you come from does not matter if you can mop the floor with everyone. A good teacher is a good teacher, what should it matter that the politics backing him failed?

[Nevinyrral]

I'm not sure but he would have to be under some certified organization if you want those belt to be recognized worldwide.

Also I'm not sure if its a rule or something but in the club I train in my sensei never examine us, there always another.

[MasterPain]

I'm not sure but he would have to be under some certified organization if you want those belt to be recognized worldwide.

Also I'm not sure if its a rule or something but in the club I train in my sensei never examine us, there always another.

When the system is taught with the same curriculum, that is a really good idea. That would help keep testing honest. My school has associate schools that we share knowledge with, but they are different styles.Our high rank tests usually involve teaching your stuff to students from another school.

[sojobo]

My instructor no longer teaches Karate but had a Yondan. He primarily teaches jujitsu now. I wanted to start ranking in karate under him but Im not sure if the organization he was affiliated with exists any longer. Is affiliation really necessary?

If your instructor no longer teaches karate - how are you learning it?

Sojobo

[lit-arate]

Skill talks.

This is certainly true, but unfortunately, so do people. I would suggest that it depends on exactly what you want to do with your karate training. If, in fact, your instructor is not recognized, that will only matter if you want to train in the same style under a different teacher, later, or if you want to teach it, or maybe even if you want to attend major seminars.

In EPAK--and I would guess other systems, but that is the only system I know in this capacity--the black belt ranks are often as much or more political than they are skill-based. If you achieved the rank of nidan under Sensei X, and Sensei X is on the outs with Y's Lineage, then everyone under Master Y may regard your nidan as so much cloth--unfortunately, even if your technique says otherwise. Many black belts at the dojo where I used to train did not wear stripes to indicate degrees of dan, because we all knew it was more than a bit questionable.

If, on the other hand, all you want to do is train with this sensei, then you may as well not worry about rank, or affiliations, since nobody else will ever ask. You and your sensei will know, and honestly, that might be preferable.

[ps1]

Skill talks.

Agreed 100%.

Even if your goal is to travel the world and train at many schools, if you have the skill sets to back up your rank, no one will question you about it. You may even find that there are other certifying bodies out there who may be willing to certify your rank.

[ps1]

In EPAK--and I would guess other systems, but that is the only system I know in this capacity--the black belt ranks are often as much or more political than they are skill-based. If you achieved the rank of nidan under Sensei X, and Sensei X is on the outs with Y's Lineage, then everyone under Master Y may regard your nidan as so much cloth--unfortunately, even if your technique says otherwise. Many black belts at the dojo where I used to train did not wear stripes to indicate degrees of dan, because we all knew it was more than a bit questionable.

You can never control what people think...only what you do!

If, on the other hand, all you want to do is train with this sensei, then you may as well not worry about rank, or affiliations, since nobody else will ever ask. You and your sensei will know, and honestly, that might be preferable.

I agree.

[BDPulver]

Some brought up good points. Training can fall under many disciplines and whatnot. I'm under the IWKA (for isshinryu). Even though I have the rank of nidan they only have me on file as a shodan cause I havent paid my dues for the next rank.

But, even if he teaches jujitsu and he still incorporate karate techniques into it to make stronger. So I wouldnt worry bout the affilation unless you also want to be recognized.

[Lupin1]

Now I'm curious, BDPulver. I'm part of an Isshinryu class that's not affiliated with any association but my instructor studied with Tom Lewis and Charles Murray, both of whom studied with Tatsuo Shimabuku in Okinawa. Would your school recognize my rank? I mean, I guess it's a little easier with our style than it would be with Taekwondo or Shotokan or something like that because our lineages still tend to be very short (for example, I'm only two instructors removed from Shimabuku-- my instructor's instructors studied directly with him), but do we tend to recoqnize eachother's ranks more because of that?