“When are you going to be promoted to 10th degree?”

Since being awarded ninth dan a few years ago, I frequently get asked “When are you going to be promoted to 10^th degree?” The askers are usually surprised when I tell them my answer – “Never.” Their next question is always “Why not?” People seem to think that going to 10^th dan from 9^th would only be natural. But it’s not. They find my answer, that I don’t want to be a 10^th dan, that I’m surely too high already, to be incomprehensible.

I think most secretly believe that the reason for my decision is that I’ve lost my ambition and become too lazy to attempt to move upwards. But it has nothing to do with ambition or energy levels. There are, in fact, several very logical reasons for feeling the way I do.

My original dream was to one day reach the lofty and I still think very respectable rank of 3^rd dan. Back then, there were no 27-year-old masters or grandmasters, no 12-year-old sandans, no Ultimate Supreme Intergalactic Grandmasters, no twelfth dans or anyone even claiming to be tenth dans, that we knew of. In fact, we didn’t know anyone who was higher than 5^th dan. (We had only heard that some existed in Okinawa and in some of the old warrior arts in Japan.) Senseis Nishiyama, Oshima, Demura, and other highly respected seniors were godans for years and years. Most Shotokan greats refused to go beyond 5^th dan because that had been Funakoshi Sensei’s rank. Other Japanese stylists, out of respect for their Shotokan brothers, refused to go up either. And these were great, great martial artists.

There were no shihans, kyoshis, or hanshis. We had never even heard of these titles in the early days. Now, there are so many holding them they have become essentially meaningless. Type “shihan,” “kyoshi,” or “hanshi” into the search box on Facebook and see how many appear – hundreds, perhaps thousands. Even people in arts and styles that have no relationship whatsoever to their historical origins now sport these titles. It sometimes seems that we have more of these than we do white belts, as if the belt and title system has been flipped onto its head.

I don’t mention any of this to attack the practices or status of others. I don’t look at it as many seem to do, from the standpoint of “Well, I deserve it but most of the others surely don’t. I mean, look at his kihon or techniques. That would never work in a million years!” (Another person, of course, would look at my techniques or opinions and say the same about me, finding fault – as you always can – with something or other I or anyone else did or said.) Part of the problem, and its cause, is that the unknowing public often selects an instructor or school based on rank. They don’t know one art or style or organization from another. But they know that 10^th dan is higher than 5^th dan. (They do not even suspect that the 5^th dan may be far superior to the 10^th dan.)

There are many reasons I don’t want to be a 10^th dan. First, to me, 10^th dan has always symbolized perfection within a system. (I recognize and respect that others may have a different and equally valid view.) I am far, far from perfect. In fact, I consider it to be beyond my reach. Second, there are a number of men who are far closer to perfection in skill and/or breadth and depth of knowledge, close enough to be worthy of 10^th dan – and not just in Japan or Okinawa. (Men like Hanshis Anderson, Koeppel, and Colwell, just 3 examples, have been or were at a very high level for half a century.) How can I wear the same rank as these great men? Third, my own life-long, primary instructor, Soke Takayuki Kubota, is 10^th dan. I am not even close to his levels of skill, knowledge, and/or accomplishment. Compared to him, I should be much lower in rank. There are other reasons as well but I need to cut this off for now before it runs so long no one will ever read it.

And, as always, this is just my 2 cents.

I will discuss a bit more on this subject. And, I’ll also talk next time about one very good reason to not only set your sights on reaching a high dan rank but for assisting your students in also doing so. This is a secret revealed to me by Hanshi George Anderson many years ago. It caused me to overlook my objections to high dan rank and accept them when offered.