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SHOTOKAN
DAN RANKING SYSTEM
Dan
levels
Very
few karate students I know of would ever say that getting
a black belt was the primary reason they joined a dojo.
Yet for any student, earning a black belt can indeed be
the by-product of their years of effort, all they have to
do is train long enough, and hard enough.
In
Shotokan karate a black belt or Dan ranking
is the first truly significant plateau obtained by a
student. It is a individual achievement that they will
remember for the rest of their life, and even though
karate is not a team sport, it is virtually impossible
for any student to reach the black belt level without
constantly training in the company of others.
Unfortunately far to many students once having reached
the rank of Sho Dan (1st
degree black belt) consider this to be "the end of
their journey" and so they cease their karate
training.
In
fact quite the opposite is true. A black belt is only the
beginning, all be it a very large first step if you will
down a truly long and wonderous path for those who have
courage and the discipline to walk it.
Upon
receiving their black belt a karate student will be
awarded the title of sempai (assistant
teacher). At this point in their training the new sempai will find
that they will be expected to take on a more formal
leadership role within the dojo, leading by example from
the front row, constantly encouraging the junior
students, while at the same time re-affirming their own
commitment, and seeking to expand the limits of their own
horizon by looking for previously unseen meaning in all
of the basic techniques and katas that they have learnt
so far.
This
is not as simple as it sounds.
Indeed
it is only through a lifetime of conscientious training
that the tightly held secrets of Shotokan's basics
techniques and katas will finally be revealed to those
who desire them. Getting your "black belt" is
definitely not a time for quiting or "winding down".
It
has been said that life is truly a circle.
The
same can be said for a student's journey down the
Shotokan road.
Starting
out wearing a white belt made of cotton, the student
rises up through the ten kyu (colour
belt) ranks until they find themselves on the threshold
of their Sho Dan (1st
degree black belt) grading. Finally upon passing their
grading they are a "black belt" at last. They
will now wear this colour of belt for the remainder of
their martial arts career, and when the years have passed
and their belt has been tied and untied a countless
number of times, the student will look down one day late
in life and notice that all the black colouring has
ultimately worn off.
Their
belt is now white again.
The
beginner has now become the master, who after a lifetime
of training has in the end come to see the truth, that
they have in fact always been just a white belt, the
colour its self was always just an illusion, something to
feed their ego until, when after many years of physical,
mental and spiritual training, the time came when ego no
longer mattered.
For
in the art of Shotokan karate it is not the colour of the
belt around your waist that makes you a success, what
does make you a success, however, is how well and how
true you pass on the knowledge that you have come to
possess to those who follow you down the Shotokan road.
If
you can ever truly come to that realization then your
circle will indeed be complete.
There
are today ten Dan levels and
three Samurai titles that can
be awarded in Shotokan karate. The ten Dan
levels are
awarded in the following order starting from the lowest
rank, Sho Dan (1st Dan)
and going to the highest rank Ju Dan (10th
Dan) :
Sho
Dan or 1st Dan - at this rank no
formal samurai title is awarded.
Ni
Dan or 2nd Dan - at this rank no
formal samurai title is awarded.
San
Dan or 3rd Dan - at this rank no
formal samurai title is awarded.
Yon
Dan or 4th Dan - at this rank the
formal samurai title of Renshi may be
awarded.
Go
Dan or 5th Dan - at this rank the
formal samurai title of Renshi may be
awarded.
Roku
Dan or 6th Dan - at this rank the
formal samurai title of Renshi may be
awarded.
Schichi
Dan or 7th Dan - at this rank the
formal samurai title of Kyoshi may be
awarded.
Hachi
Dan or 8th Dan - at this rank the
formal samurai title of Kyoshi may be
awarded.
Ku
Dan or 9th Dan - at this rank the
formal samurai title of Hanshi may be
awarded.
Ju
Dan or 10th Dan - at this rank the
formal samurai title of Hanshi may be
awarded.
The
three Samurai titles hold the
following meanings :
RENSHI
:
"A person who has mastered oneself".
This person is
considered an expert instructor. Renshi are no longer one of the
many and is usually given at Yo Dan (4th Dan) or Go Dan (5th
Dan). It is not unusual for a Renshi to be
over 50 years old before this title is ever conferred
upon them.
KYOSHI : "Knowledgeable
person".
Usually this title
is conferred at Roku Dan (6th Dan) or Shichi Dan (7th Dan).
It is not unusual for a Kyoshi to be
over 60 years old before this title is ever conferred
upon them.
HANSHI : "Master".
A title given to
the oldest and most senior black belt, usually the head
of an individual karate organization, someone who has
studied the art of karate for most of their lifetime.
This rank signifies their true understanding of the art.
It is not uncommon for a Hanshi to be well over 70 or 80
years of age before this title is ever conferred upon
them.
Remember
It
is not how long you have been training that counts,
but
how honestly you have been training that matters.
Part
the clouds - see the way.
"The
objective of karate-do is to contribute to the evolution
of
the human spirit through physical and mental training."
Sensei
Peter Lindsay
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