Sensei

[sensei8]

For those who speak about their rank have little understanding!! Rank is a thing, and things can be gotten!! If your sensei isn't quite forth coming, then his understanding is considerable!!

For those here who have spoken in negative tones about high ranks, those above Godan, are quite disrespectful towards the ones that possess them! Kanazawa or Higaonna or Demura or Nishiyama and on and on; are Senior Dans! So when you speak in negative tones, remember you're speaking disrespectfully about them as well!!

[mal103]

I have the highest respect for those that have earnt it, unfortunately there are some who haven't.

I get the feeling that the OP Sensei may just not be bothered with it which is fine, although as pointed out he is part of his students lineage so should also think of the knock on effect for them if they progress upwards.

Now to the (hopefully) minority who get ego drunk with the idea of rank or assume they will make themselves and their school look better if they are a high rank.

Out of the clubs near me I have several Dan ranks from 4th to 7th, the 4th Dan teaches "watered-down" Mcdojo style rubbish and its a mystery who he graded with from 2nd Dan. A 5th Dan managed to get his 4th from somewhere then fraudulently got hold of a blank certificate and wrote his own name on it, the thought of running an association massaged his ego so much that he is now conforming to most of the McDojo rules in a recent online article.

I've trained with most of the other seniors and they are very knowledgeable, never go on about rank, they just teach AND train. The 5th mentioned above has not been in another Dojo for around 17 years and is well out of touch.

If a senior needs to grade and doesn't like the idea of seeking out someone to do it and isn't part of a larger org then the temptation to self grade may be high, also if there isn't anybody worthwhile in the area then what should they do?

Another point is that you may think they are great now but as you progress you may change your mind, I used to think the 5th above was good up until Brown belt area before I realised their technique wasn't great and their knowledge was thin, later on discovered it was more about money and ego, then fraud.

[cheesefrysamurai]

Who speaks disrespectfully of high ranks? It takes a level of dedication very few have.

My only issue is that it shouldn't be that hard to get your Sensei to talk about who he is. You only get one go around in this life. You have to be comfortable with who you are connected to.

Yes a belt is only good for holding up your pants but I want to be happy with my choice of teacher, for me it's a very personal decision. At my age, I don't want to learn by trial and error. I wouldn't train with someone who I didn't research first.

Just my 2 cents

[IcemanSK]

For those who speak about their rank have little understanding!! Rank is a thing, and things can be gotten!! If your sensei isn't quite forth coming, then his understanding is considerable!!

For those here who have spoken in negative tones about high ranks, those above Godan, are quite disrespectful towards the ones that possess them! Kanazawa or Higaonna or Demura or Nishiyama and on and on; are Senior Dans! So when you speak in negative tones, remember you're speaking disrespectfully about them as well!!

Well said. Among Koreans, the question asked is never, "what rank are you?". But rather, how long have you trained. Assuming one may be less than honest about rank they don't talk about is odd to me. It's more often the case that someone may not have the rank they talk about often.

[Melau]

Well said. Among Koreans, the question asked is never, "what rank are you?". But rather, how long have you trained. Assuming one may be less than honest about rank they don't talk about is odd to me. It's more often the case that someone may not have the rank they talk about often.

That is a good way of doing things IMHO. If someone hasn't tested for Sandan for instance (due to whatever reasons) but kept on training / improving throughout the years, his current 'official' ranking doesn't have to reflect his actual skill.

[jaypo]

Well said. Among Koreans, the question asked is never, "what rank are you?". But rather, how long have you trained. Assuming one may be less than honest about rank they don't talk about is odd to me. It's more often the case that someone may not have the rank they talk about often.

That is a good way of doing things IMHO. If someone hasn't tested for Sandan for instance (due to whatever reasons) but kept on training / improving throughout the years, his current 'official' ranking doesn't have to reflect his actual skill.

This is the point I was making earlier. I've seen videos of my sensei when he was in his 20's competing and wearing his black belt back then. He's now in his 60's. I know for a fact that he obtained a black belt ranking under Master Okazaki, a direct student of Funakoshi Sensei, and he periodically goes back to Philly to visit, train with him. So regardless if this man is not a Godan or higher, he's been training for over 40 years (over 50, in his words). Being the unofficial treasurer of our club, I can tell you that he is not running this club as a money scam. His income is minimal. He just does it for the love of the arts.

Knowing what it took for me to achieve Nidan rank, I have the utmost respect for those that obtain higher ranks. However, I do not admonish someone if they don't pursue higher "official" ranking as long as their knowledge continues to grow.

[Kusotare]

Most people don't actually know the history of Dan ranking and belts. First off the original martial arts used the Menkyo system, of which I wont get into here. Jigaro Kano took the belts used by swimmers in Japan to denote levels of proficiency and started using them in Judo.

Actually, the swimmers did not wear belts (they were designated Aka (red) and Shiro (white) - displayed on the caps they wore.

For the initial belt ranking system Kano looked to the Chinese board game of "go" which had Mudansha (kyu grades) and Yudansha (Dan grades) to designate a players skill and official ranking.

The full rainbow of coloured belts were introduced by Koizumi sensei in Europe in the middle of the last century.

Regarding grades - at instructor level, as others have alluded to - heritage and length of time within the art are far more important.

That said, to a person looking to join a club (with very little knowledge of what they are looking for) - an instructors qualifications are one of the few things one can latch on to.

K.

[Spartacus Maximus]

People like tangible symbols because they are convienient to show and easy to recognize within a group. By nature we constantly seek to know where we and others around us are in relation to one another. Martial arts ranks are just another system of symbols created at a time when teaching large groups made it necessary. What was originally intended as a rough progress marker has been turned into a status symbol of power or a commodity to be bought and sold in a neat package.

Those who use rank to promote and advertise themselves and their business are just exploiting a status symbol to their advantage. These types of individuals give the ranking system so much importance and attention because it is the basis of their entire status. Their position among others as welll as their personal wealth and prestige is dependant on it.

From this, it is a short and easy step away from fraud, misrepresentation and other rather dishonest practices. However it is not fair to deny another man the pursuit of comfort or even wealth. Life is short and time is better spent forging one's own character and improving one self rather than in the futile attempt of changing others.

Modesty is often the mark of true skill and someone who is confident in these will not need to put any emphasis on rank because such a person understands that skills developed over years of diligent training and practise speak louder than any belt.