|  |
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
|
