Another Thing About Rank!!

[vantheman]

The Dan is not, and will probably never be standardized the way military ranks are. Sometimes I question the need for a martial arts rank at all. Back to the topic at hand, In some arts, 10th degree is just a political position. In others, it is for the grandmaster of the style. This is the result of un-standardized ranking. This is why I really think that ability and experience should outweigh whatever Dan you may be (at least in post-black belt situations). But that's just me. The masters of the system I train in take darksoul's approach: they will form a "board of peers" when deciding in granting Dans above 5, and also decide what happens when the 10th degree retires, and who, if any gets to be promoted, given, a new title, etc.

I really don't know if there is any one way to handle this problem. There is no universal standards for the black belt