Ranking - Revision history

YellowHatGuy: /* How Karate Ranks are Regulated */

2021-06-05T04:06:28Z

How Karate Ranks are Regulated

YellowHatGuy: /* How Karate Ranks are Regulated */

2020-04-17T23:47:42Z

How Karate Ranks are Regulated

YellowHatGuy: /* How Karate Ranks are Regulated */

2020-04-17T23:46:38Z

How Karate Ranks are Regulated

YellowHatGuy: /* Mudansha */

2020-04-17T23:37:29Z

Mudansha

YellowHatGuy: /* Yūdansha */

2020-04-17T23:36:28Z

Yūdansha

YellowHatGuy: /* Yūdansha */

2020-04-17T23:26:26Z

Yūdansha

YellowHatGuy: /* How Karate Ranks are Regulated */

2019-11-20T03:31:26Z

How Karate Ranks are Regulated

YellowHatGuy at 04:09, 14 November 2019

2019-11-14T04:09:53Z

YellowHatGuy: /* Yūdansha */

2019-11-14T04:06:53Z

Yūdansha

YellowHatGuy: /* Mudansha */

2019-11-14T03:57:26Z

Mudansha

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 *All mudansha (non-black belt) rankings are solely determined by a dōjō's head instructor; no one else has the authority to promote our students. Other black belts may only assist the head instructor with their evaluation.
 *Yūdansha (black belt) ranks must be conferred by a committee of three or more black belts.
-*To ensure quality control, instructors cannot confer ranks which are equal to, or greater than, their own.
+*To ensure quality control, instructors cannot confer ranks which are greater than or equal to their own.
 *Ideally, there is only one jūdan, who confers the rank of kudan to only one heir-apparent, who is automatically promoted to jūdan upon the previous jūdan's death.
-**This ''basically never happens, anywhere in the world,'' and causes much political in-fighting which drives people apart.
+**This ''basically never happens, anywhere in the world,'' and this causes much political in-fighting which drives people apart.
-**If a jūdan dies without naming a successor, the system's black belts organize to become a collective ''de facto'' leader (yūdanshakai), which can grant jūdan ranking at their collective discretion.
+**If a jūdan dies without naming a successor, a committee of the system's black belts (yūdanshakai) organizes to become a collective ''de facto'' leader, which confers jūdan ranking at their collective discretion.
 *The Nanatsuboshi Dōjō only promotes its own members -- not guests or referred students.
 ----
 {{Navigation}}

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 *Yūdansha (black belt) ranks must be conferred by a committee of three or more black belts.
 *To ensure quality control, instructors cannot confer ranks which are equal to, or greater than, their own.
-*Ideally, only one person holds the rank of jūdan, who awards the rank of kudan to one heir-apparent, who is automatically promoted to jūdan upon the previous jūdan's death.
+*Ideally, there is only one jūdan, who confers the rank of kudan to only one heir-apparent, who is automatically promoted to jūdan upon the previous jūdan's death.
 **This ''basically never happens, anywhere in the world,'' and causes much political in-fighting which drives people apart.
 **If a jūdan dies without naming a successor, the system's black belts organize to become a collective ''de facto'' leader (yūdanshakai), which can grant jūdan ranking at their collective discretion.
 *The Nanatsuboshi Dōjō only promotes its own members -- not guests or referred students.
 ----
 {{Navigation}}

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 **This ''basically never happens, anywhere in the world,'' and causes much political in-fighting which drives people apart.
 **If a jūdan dies without naming a successor, the system's black belts organize to become a collective ''de facto'' leader (yūdanshakai), which can grant jūdan ranking at their collective discretion.
-*The Katusjinken Dōjō only promotes its own members -- not guests or referred students.
+*The Nanatsuboshi Dōjō only promotes its own members -- not guests or referred students.
 ----
 {{Navigation}}

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 Each of these "kyū" grades or levels are denoted with color-coded belts, mostly to give instructors a instant visual reminder of a student's relative skill and knowledge, and their place in the curriculum. The number of kyū ranks, and their corresponding color codes, vary greatly between different dōjō.
-The rank of hachikyū (8th level) is conferred upon everyone at birth. All other mudansha ranks are granted at the sole discretion of the head instructor of the student's main dōjō. Usually, this approval is granted upon completing a comprehensive exam before the head instructor. As the student progresses, additional material is introduced, so these exams become longer and more arduous. It should be noted that students rarely (if ever) fail a promotional exam, because competent instructors do not offer promotions to those who are not completely, absolutely ready for them.
+The rank of hachikyū (8th level) is conferred upon everyone at birth. All other mudansha ranks are granted at the sole discretion of the head instructor of the student's main dōjō. Usually, this approval is granted upon completing a comprehensive exam before the head instructor. As the student progresses, additional material is introduced, so these cumulative exams become longer and more arduous. It should be noted that students rarely (if ever) fail a promotional exam, because competent instructors do not offer promotions to those who are not completely, absolutely ready for them.
 == How to Earn Ranking Online ==

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 '''Yūdansha''' (literally: "have-a-degree people") are martial artists who have completed a basic curriculum, and thus have a high degree of competence over a range of techniques. Earning a "-dan" rank (literally: "steps," figuratively: "degree") is a significant achievement, worthy of being listed on one's CV or résumé.
-Earning the introductory yūdansha rank (shōdan) involves completing an exhausting comprehensive exam before your dōjō's head instructor, and a promotion board (yūdanshakai) consisting of at least two shōdan-ranked members. Further ranks, each denoting a degree of mastery of the material, are awarded by your dōjō's head instructor with the yūdanshakai's concurrence, based on your merit, dedication, and contributions to the art.
+Earning the introductory yūdansha rank (shōdan) involves completing an exhausting comprehensive exam before your dōjō's head instructor and a promotion board (yūdanshakai) consisting of at least two shōdan-ranked members. Further ranks denote a degree of mastery of the material, and are awarded by your dōjō's head instructor with the yūdanshakai's concurrence, based on your merit, dedication, and contributions to the art.
-Yūdansha ranking is indicated by wearing a black belt as part of the [[Gi|uniform]]. Some higher-level black belts choose to denote their rank by placing a stripe on their belt's tip for each degree. Some masters may choose to wear other belts, as shown on the table to the right. Within [[Goshin-Jutsu]], the title of "Master" is reserved for those ranked yondan or higher. The title of "Grandmaster" is used ''very sparingly'' to honor teachers who have produced numerous master-ranked students. All black belts are to be respectfully addressed by everyone in the dōjō -- even by their superiors (e.g. "Mr. Jones.")
+Yūdansha ranking is indicated by wearing a black belt as part of the [[Gi|uniform]]. Some higher-level black belts choose to denote their rank by placing one stripe for each degree on their belt's tip. Some masters may choose to wear other belts, as shown on the table to the right. Within [[Goshin-Jutsu]], the title of "Master" is reserved for those ranked yondan or higher. The title of "Grandmaster" is used ''very sparingly'' to honor teachers who have produced numerous master-ranked students. All black belts are to be respectfully addressed by everyone in the dōjō -- even by their superiors (e.g. "Mr. Jones.")
-Please be mindful that '''a black belt is not necessarily an expert.''' A 1st-degree black belt (shōdan) is someone who has learned the material, but has not mastered it. A shōdan is the karate equivalent of a high school diploma. "Shō-" is a prefix meaning "smaller/lesser" -- they are literally, a "lesser-dan" -- one who has achieved, but has not made a name for themselves. The "black belts are experts" myth is a holdover from the 1950's, when there were few black belts in the US because martial arts ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_szq20l654 and exercise in general]) were not considered to be normal hobbies. This general athletic ignorance led people to assume that any physical skill was extremely difficult to learn. Earning a black belt actually requires more persistence than natural talent. Martial arts are learned skills, like woodworking or playing the guitar. Black belt ranking is something which any reasonably-healthy person can accomplish with 5 ± 2 years of focused training.
+Please be mindful that '''a black belt is not necessarily an expert.''' A 1st-degree black belt (shōdan) is someone who has learned the material, but has not mastered it. A shōdan is the karate equivalent of a high school diploma. "Shō-" is a prefix meaning "smaller/lesser" -- they are literally, a "lesser-dan" -- one who has achieved, but has not made a name for themselves. The "black belts are experts" myth is a holdover from the 1950's, when there were few black belts in the US because martial arts ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_szq20l654 and exercise in general]) were not considered to be normal hobbies. This general athletic ignorance led people to assume that any physical skill was extremely difficult to learn. Earning a black belt actually requires more persistence than talent. Martial arts are learned skills, like woodworking or playing the guitar. Black belt ranking is something which any reasonably-healthy person can accomplish with 5 ± 2 years of focused training.
 '''Having a black belt does not automatically make someone an instructor.''' Many styles, and many schools, have additional requirements to become an instructor. Within [[Goshin-Jutsu]], black belts can only become instructors with their teacher's explicit permission. However, all yūdansha are expected to serve as assistant instructors during classes. If a student is not ready to take on some teaching responsibilities, then they should remain an ikkyū until they develop in that sphere.
-Contrary to popular belief, black belts ''are not'' required to register their hands as lethal weapons. While some people claim that they have done so (or more commonly, have a conveniently-absent friend who has), this is just macho posturing. Ask these people for details, and watch them flounder.
+Contrary to popular belief, [[Legal_implications#.E2.80.9CMy_Hands_are_Lethal_Weapons.E2.80.A6.E2.80.9D|black belts ''are not'' required to register their hands as lethal weapons]]. While some people claim that they have done so (or more commonly, have a conveniently-absent friend who has), this is just macho posturing. Ask these people for details, and watch them flounder.
 == Mudansha ==

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 |-
 |[[File:Yodan.png]]
-|[[Yūdansha#Yodan|Yodan]]
+|[[Yūdansha#Yondan|Yondan]]
 |-
 |[[File:Shodan.png]]

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 #Okinawa was a small place; if you were any good, people already knew this from word-of-mouth.
-Today, rankings are used to gauge your progress, or to determine one's relative standing among fellow students. '''Ranking does not imply a hierarchy''', and the junior-senior (kohai-sempai) relationship is ''not'' based on domination. It is a mentor-aspirant relationship, rather than the exemplar-dunce relationship commonly used in the West. Seniors can never exploit or abuse juniors, because the juniors are free to leave at any time. '''Rank does not grant privileges; it imposes responsibilities.''' If you are inconsiderate to those below you, you will be abandoned, and your skill will atrophy without training partners. As such, karate ranks are more like K-12 public school grade levels than military ranks.
+Today, rankings are used to gauge your progress, or to determine one's relative standing among fellow students. '''Ranking does not imply a hierarchy''', and the junior-senior (kohai-sempai) relationship is ''not'' based on domination. It is a mentor-aspirant relationship, rather than the exemplar-dunce relationship commonly used in the West. Seniors can never exploit or abuse juniors, because the juniors are free to leave at any time. '''Rank does not grant privileges; it imposes responsibilities.''' If you are inconsiderate to those below you, you will be abandoned, and your skill will atrophy without training partners. As such, karate ranks are more like public school grade levels, and not like military ranks.
 Martial arts ranking systems, and the degree of quality which they represent, vary ''greatly'' from style to style, and from school to school. Please be mindful of this, and the fact that in the end, there are only two martial arts ranks:

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 '''Mudansha''' (literally:  "without-a-degree people") are students who have not completed the basic curriculum.
-Each of these "kyū" grades or levels are denoted with color-coded belts, mostly to give instructors a instant visual reminder of a student's relative skill and knowledge, and their place in the curriculum. The number of kyū ranks, and their corresponding color codes, tend to vary greatly between different dōjō.
+Each of these "kyū" grades or levels are denoted with color-coded belts, mostly to give instructors a instant visual reminder of a student's relative skill and knowledge, and their place in the curriculum. The number of kyū ranks, and their corresponding color codes, vary greatly between different dōjō.
-The rank of hachikyū (8th level) is conferred upon everyone at birth. All other mudansha ranks are granted at the sole discretion of the head instructor of the student's main dōjō. Usually, this occurs upon completing a comprehensive exam before the head instructor. As the student progresses, additional material is introduced, and these exams become longer and more arduous. It should be noted that students rarely (if ever) fail a promotional exam, because competent instructors will not offer promotions to those who are not completely, absolutely ready.
+The rank of hachikyū (8th level) is conferred upon everyone at birth. All other mudansha ranks are granted at the sole discretion of the head instructor of the student's main dōjō. Usually, this approval is granted upon completing a comprehensive exam before the head instructor. As the student progresses, additional material is introduced, so these exams become longer and more arduous. It should be noted that students rarely (if ever) fail a promotional exam, because competent instructors do not offer promotions to those who are not completely, absolutely ready for them.
 == How to Earn Ranking Online ==