Question for Sandans and above

[jaypo]

How long did it take you to get from :

-10th Kyu to Shodan

-Shodan to Nidan

-Nidan to Sandan

[sensei8]

Please...

http://www.karateforums.com/my-martial-arts-background-in-a-nutshell-vt41080.html?highlight=nutshell

[jaypo]

Please...

http://www.karateforums.com/my-martial-arts-background-in-a-nutshell-vt41080.html?highlight=nutshell

Thanks! I was curious because I have been giving the opportunity to test for my Sandan rank next month. I had reservations at first because it has only been a little over 14 months since I tested and earned my Nidan rank. He asked me if I was ready, and I asked him that same question! His reply was that he wouldn't give me the opportunity unless he knew I was!

I hear a lot of stories about people not being given the opportunity to test for 3-5 years between dan grades, so I just wanted to see what path other martial artists around these parts had to travel.

As a side note, last week, we had a visitor in class. After class, he and our CI were talking about their training. The visitor mentioned that he was a Marine stationed in Okinawa (same as my CI), and they began sharing stories about the "old school" training. I wish I could have gone there to train at some point. It sounded like something out of a movie!

[RAM18]

Very subjective topic. For 10 kyu to Shodan some people will say that you are at a McDojo if you get Shodan anything before 3 or 4 years...Others have genuinely made it in 2 years and been exceptional at what they do...

My average guess would be about 3+ years of training twice a week...

As for Nidan and Sandan I am surprised as at least my school and others i have asked the "Dan" ranks are normally associated with a fixed time and then with time and what you have given back.

So in my school you have to have been Shodan for 2 years to be allowed to grade Nidan. Then Nidan for 3 years for Sandan....

I know for my Senseis 6th Dan he was interviewed by the governing organisation and several other 6th / 7th Dans about what he has contributed back to the karate community and the other blackbelts he has taught and what they have gone on to do!

But with ALL things karate there is so many differences from style to style and school to school that its hard to say there is a set of rules that apply in all cases!

[Nidan Melbourne]

Very subjective topic. For 10 kyu to Shodan some people will say that you are at a McDojo if you get Shodan anything before 3 or 4 years...Others have genuinely made it in 2 years and been exceptional at what they do...

My average guess would be about 3+ years of training twice a week...

As for Nidan and Sandan I am surprised as at least my school and others i have asked the "Dan" ranks are normally associated with a fixed time and then with time and what you have given back.

So in my school you have to have been Shodan for 2 years to be allowed to grade Nidan. Then Nidan for 3 years for Sandan....

I know for my Senseis 6th Dan he was interviewed by the governing organisation and several other 6th / 7th Dans about what he has contributed back to the karate community and the other blackbelts he has taught and what they have gone on to do!

But with ALL things karate there is so many differences from style to style and school to school that its hard to say there is a set of rules that apply in all cases!

At my dojo we don't grade straight from Ikkyu to Shodan instead we do Ikkyu to Shodan-Ho. As to ensure we have students study further prior to grading to Shodan and means that you need at least an extra 18 months of training.

We have had many students that reached Shodan-Ho just after the 3 year mark. BUT the only way they can do that is if they have trained 4 times per week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday) and have not failed a single test (5 tests per belt then a grading).

For our Dan Grades we require our students to train for x amount of time + 6 months for the grade that you want. So for Sandan we require our students to train for 3 years (= 3rd Dan) + 6 months on top of that.

The only exception to the rule is when a student is double graded (or even the rarer Triple Graded) but we will not do those [Double/Triple Grade] those from a Kyu Grade to Dan Grade. It can only be Kyu Grade to Kyu Grade or Dan Grade to Dan Grade.

I know of only 2 cases where a Dan Graded person got double graded; me from Shodan-Ho to Nidan and my friend Leon who got graded from Nidan to Yondan. Both of us got graded to those ranks from people that are well respected and knowledgeable in Goju-Ryu Karate.

[cathal]

Nidan Melbourne, how did that person go from Nidsn to Yondan? I'd love to hear about it.

[sensei8]

Tenures within the MA are well known, albeit, they vary from style to style and so on and so forth. To earn a Shodan in one year causes many to quickly label the source a McDojo...fair enough, I suppose.

Therefore, with that being said,...

Would anyone here say that the Shodan's earned by Joe Lewis and Mike Stone were products of a McDojo?

[Nidan Melbourne]

Nidan Melbourne, how did that person go from Nidsn to Yondan? I'd love to hear about it.

I am unsure on the specifics for his promotion as he trains at another dojo (my old one). But he has been contributing a lot back to karate for years now and brought up the standard of the dojos he taught at.

[sensei8]

Please...

http://www.karateforums.com/my-martial-arts-background-in-a-nutshell-vt41080.html?highlight=nutshell

Thanks! I was curious because I have been giving the opportunity to test for my Sandan rank next month. I had reservations at first because it has only been a little over 14 months since I tested and earned my Nidan rank. He asked me if I was ready, and I asked him that same question! His reply was that he wouldn't give me the opportunity unless he knew I was!

I hear a lot of stories about people not being given the opportunity to test for 3-5 years between dan grades, so I just wanted to see what path other martial artists around these parts had to travel.

As a side note, last week, we had a visitor in class. After class, he and our CI were talking about their training. The visitor mentioned that he was a Marine stationed in Okinawa (same as my CI), and they began sharing stories about the "old school" training. I wish I could have gone there to train at some point. It sounded like something out of a movie!

If your Sensei believes that you're ready for your Sandan testing cycle, then go for it. Now, you can deny the opportunity because that's your choice to do so, and any Sensei wouldn't take it as an insult because it's your journey. Just explain WHY briefly, out of respect!!

I went through Shodan to Sandan one year after another, and only because I was more than ready, having been a JBB for 5 years!! After Sandan, my tenure was to the letter, and then some!! So the tenure is important as long as it's kept in the proper context, and not treated like candy.

While tenures are serious, the governing body can do whatever they want to do, and that is that!! Some governing bodies keep to the letter of their law concerning tenure; it's a very serious matter to them, and they'll not ignore the tenure standards that they've founded.

[IcemanSK]

I'm a Kukki-Taekwondo guy, not Karate, but I'll add mine.

From white to 1st Dan 2 1/2 years

1st Dan to 2nd Dan 3 years (minimum time in grade is 1 year)

2nd Dan to 3rd Dan 19 years (minimum time in grade is 2 years)

3rd Dan to 4th Dan 4 years (minimum time in grade 3 years)

4th Dan to 5th Dan 4 years (minimum time in grade 4 years)