Welcome to judo vern.
My
name is Vern Borgen, I have been teaching judo in Fargo, ND since 1979,
first as an assistant to Leigh English sensei and then starting in 1980
as the head instructor.
This blog is going to be bits
and pieces about judo and other martial arts. This welcome page is
going to be an index of sorts, as I add material to the blog I will
update this welcome page.
I would appreciate intelligent comments on the articles, thanks.
16 February 2015 Kangeiko by Jeff Ficek, head sensei at Rough Rider Judo wrote this flyer for the social event after our day of training.
21 January 2015 Chapter 4 Rank by Vern Borgen. When I started this article it was in response to Hayward Nishioka's essay, "What the hell is a black belt" but as I was writing I felt that this was something that a lot of students of Judo didn't understand well and was compelled to think of it as a chapter in a book about the "ura of judo", or the underbelly of judo. You might want to read Nishioka's essay before you read this one.
21 January 2015 "What the hell is a black belt"
by Hayward Nishioka. Nishioka sensei is an international judo
champion, the author of several books on judo and teacher of judo for 40
years. I would challenge high ranking judoka to meet the challenges of
the rokudan test used by the French Judo association. I was able to
come up with only 11 entries for my favorite throw on the first day, and
another 6 with a bit of research. I am still short 8 entries. This
article inspired me to write a positive response that builds on that
article which I will publish here in the near future.
21 January 2015 NIWA: the way of the garden. This is an essay that I wrote in 1996 and was published by the Aikido Today Magazine in April/May of that year.
20 January 2015 Is Judo Dying?
This
is an essay that I wrote in 1996 to one of the national leaders of judo
and re-posted on Steven Cunningham's Judo-L, the first internet judo
bulletin board. The post stimulated a tremendous response on the
Judo-L, most of it positive, I had hit a nerve, the conversation went on
for weeks and I was asked numerous times for re-posting rights.
20 May 2014 This is the content of the www.gentleways.com
website circa 2003. Dane Ankeny competed at US Judo Nationals, Jana
Seaborn attended Joshi Judo Camp, Grand Master Jose Bueno taught an
Arnis and jujutsu seminar in Fargo, Darrell Craig Shihan taught jujutsu
in Fargo, Guy Hagen Sensei taught aikido in Bismark and other local
news.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Chapter 4 - rank
Chapter 4
Rank
"The man, who, being really on the
Way, falls upon hard times in the world will not, as a consequence, turn to
that friend who offers him refuge and comfort and encourages his old self to
survive. Rather, he will seek out someone who will faithfully and inexorably
help him to risk himself, so that he may endure the suffering and pass
courageously through it. Only to the extent that man exposes himself over and
over again to annihilation, can that which is indestructible arise within him.
In this lies the dignity of daring."
Karlfried_Graf_Dürckheim– from The Way of Transformation, 1988.
Karlfried_Graf_Dürckheim– from The Way of Transformation, 1988.
What the heck is judo
rank?
I taught a college level judo class at North Dakota State
University for 32 years. It was a very
popular class, I had about 3,000 students in 32 years. Often I was asked about the martial arts rank system and I
developed a good way, to my mind anyway, of describing what was a black belt
and how to interpret the higher level ranks in judo.
Professor Jigoro Kano's day time job was as an
educator. It appears that he was a very
good one for he is often referred to as the Father of Modern Education in
Japan. As a young man he rose in the
education system from teacher to administrator quite quickly and at one point
helped to adapt the European system of education, what we know as K-12,
undergraduate and graduate college education.
Kano's students worked from early morning until late at
night, Steven Cunningham stated that they studied Japanese and Chinese
Classics, martial arts history, strategy employed in battles, tactics and
strategy, etc. Kano translated Japanese
into English and and German and vice versa to help pay for the school. There are references in older literature that
the Kodokan was often called the Judo College by old jujutsu masters. So it seems to me that it is not a coincidence that the martial arts ranking system, referred to as dan-i, was established by Kano to mirror the educational systems of Europe. The more I read the more convinced I have become.
1st degree black belt, shodan, is
roughly equal to a high school diploma.
By graduation the student has a fair grasp of the nature of judo,
his/her knowledge is pretty broad at this point, their work ethic has been
examined (persistence to complete the program).
The high school diploma is pretty broad and fairly easy to get, some say
that all you have to do is show up. A
first degree black belt, in Japan is fairly easy to earn. In my judo club it takes 4 to 6 years to earn
a black belt.
2nd degree black belt, nidan, is
equivalent to an associates degree in college.
Following my analogy, after shodan, the student has jumped to a college
level curriculum, the classes are a more rigorous, a deeper understanding of the subject matter is required. Some specialization occurs at this level
much as it does in college, but the core curriculum is continued to be
studied. Generally it takes another 2 to
3 years to earn nidan.
3rd degree black belt, sandan, is
equivalent to a bachelor's degree in college.
This is a fairly rigorous course of study and the judo applicant would have
to have time in grade and equivalent course work (knowledge) and be able to
demonstrate a high level of understanding of judo. The student would be expected to learn about
instruction/coaching of beginning and intermediate students, sports psychology,
bio-mechanics, exercise physiology, dojo management, judo games, judo drills,
judo kata, how to set up a tournament, refereeing, public relations, sports
information, writing about judo, grant writing, judo story telling, judo and
the media, how to set up and conduct judo clinics.
4th degree black belt, yodan, is
equivalent to a master's degree in college.
The course work would continue and perhaps specialize in a particular
area of interest, perhaps refereeing or teaching college students. In addition the student would be required to
do some original research, perhaps it is in-line with his major adviser’s
research or something that he/she chose for themselves, with approval from his
major adviser and the promotion committee.
For example, the student could be doing research on a competitive aspect
of chokes, their success rate in tournament and their medical results
(injuries, etc.) or developing the “go
no kata” or another lost kata of the Kodokan. Students would be encouraged to study other
aspects of samurai culture such as jujutsu, aiki jujutsu, kenjutsu,
iaido, jodo, other weapons systems and their effect on the development of judo
or for the expansion of knowledge of the student. Kano encouraged his students
to study the sword for a better understanding of the principles of judo,
Kano himself was a master of the sword.
5th degree black belt, godan, is equivalent to a
PhD degree in college. The PhD
candidates would continue the course work, would develop a deeper knowledge of
a specific area of judo. This would be
the realm of the higher National and lower International referees. More research.
6th degree black belt, rokudan, is
equivalent to assistant professor in the judo college. This is a very knowledgeable person capable
of guiding students up to 4th degree black belt. With time this person will become a full
professor. Like in a college setting
this person has teaching and research responsibilities. He/she should be seeking out new methods to
doing things, new ways of looking at things.
7th degree black belt, shichidan, is
equivalent to a full professor in our judo college. For those who have never attended graduate
school, the work of the professor is very important to the proper guidance of
the graduate student. In addition, typically
the graduate student works for the professor and contributes to the professors
favorite research topic.
8th degree black belt, hachidan, is
equivalent to a department chairman, high level administration, remarkable
teacher, remarkable coach, remarkable researcher.
9th degree black belt, kudan, is
equivalent to a distinguished fellow of the college (remembering our Judo
College is made up of all the judoka in the world)
10th degree black belt, judan, is the equivalent
of the Nobel prize “for judo”
Earlier forms of rank
So how does Kano's dan ranking system compare with other
traditional ranking systems?
Menkyo Kaiden
The DAN system developed by Kano dovetails nicely with the
older rank recognition system called Menkyo Kaiden. In the Menkyo system the Menkyo
Kaiden is the highest rank and means “license of total transmission”, it
takes 30 to 40 years to get to this point, and most likely the holder of this
license is the inheritor of the ryu (school of martial art). This would be 9th or 10th
dan in Kano's rank system.
The first ranking in this system is okuiri, which
means “entrance into secrets” and is roughly equivalent to a nidan or sandan
in Kano's rank system. At this point the
student has a basic knowledgeable of the art's techniques. In the Menkyo system at this point the
student's name is added to the school's register, and the student takes a blood
oath to not disclose the teachings of the school. It takes 8 to 10 years to get to this
point. While Kano didn't like the idea
of secrets he was obligated to take blood oaths when he invited jujutsu school
masters to the Kodokan to share their knowledgeable. So you see fewer requirements for upper ranks
because they were supposed to be secretive.
There can be several steps between okuiri and menkyo
kaiden – the system I am modeling has two intermediate steps, mokuroku
and menkyo. Mokuroku is a
middle learning step and takes another 8 to 10 years to achieve. Mokuroku is roughly equivalent to godan in
Kano's dan system. Menkyo means
license and is the license to teach. It
takes another 8 to 10 years to achieve this level of expertise. At this point the student can begin to teach
on his own and establish his or her own dojo.
Shu-ha-ri
Shu-ha-ri is a concept of Japanese martial arts that means:
obey, digress, separate. It is a
description of the goals required of students studying martial arts and has
been borrowed by the International Business community to help employees
understand how one masters business skills.
SHU refers to 'copying' faithfully the material presented by
the sensei and is directed to students with the rank up to sandan, 3rd
degree black belt.
HA is the second goal of martial arts study and requires the
student to 'digress', to start exploring technique and is directed to students
with the rank of yodan and godan, 4th and 5th degree
black belt.
RI is the final stage, where the student is set on his own
to create his own dojo, this is 6th or 7th dan. Remarkably this reflects the education system
based on the judo college model.
Here is a short description of the Shogo system from Kenshi 24/7[1]
SHOGO (称号) in Japanese translates simply as “title” or “rank,” and the word can be used in many areas, for example formal titles of nobility, military ranks, scholarly ranks, etc, and informally in the sporting world, between friends, etc.
The use of the word that I will look at here is of course that to do with the budo world, and specifically the usage promoted by the Dai Nippon Butokukai[2] (1895-1946), and that continues today in one of its spiritual heirs, the Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei (All Japan kendo federation). Please note that the Butokukai information presented here relates to Kendo (variously called gekkiken and kenjutsu) but that eventually all arts under the Butokukai ended up using the system (kyudo, jukendo, et al)[3].
Although this article is meant to be focusing on the shogo titles, I could not ignore the DANI (段位) system during my investigation. The dani system used by the Butokukai was obviously heavily influenced by the system used in Judo that was instigated by Kano and used at the Kodokan. Amongst other things, Kano was the principal of Tokyo Higher Normal school between 1893 – 1920 and Takano Sasaburo began working there as a kendo teacher in 1908. Of course Kano was influential in many circles (including governmental ones) but I don’t think it’s illogical to suppose that he had a large and a direct influence on Takano’s thought in this matter. Takano, of course, went on to become a kendo leader in Japan, and a senior member of the Butokukai.
Types of Shōgō:[4]
Renshi: Those who have practiced and succeeded to
show the principle of the sword and have good knowledge of kendō. Must
hold 6-dan.
Kyōshi: Those who have mastered the principle of the
sword and have excellent knowledge of kendō. Must hold 7-dan.
Hanshi: The highest of all. Those who have mastered
and completed the principle of the sword, have outstanding knowledge of kendō
and excellent personality with a virtue. Must hold 8-dan.
Other Shogo
Occasionally you will see someone referred to as Shihan,
that means master teacher.
[1]
http://kenshi247.net/blog/2010/01/08/a-brief-investigation-into-the-development-of-the-shogo-system/
[2]
Kenshiro Abe, the founder of the Kyushido Society in England, the precursor to
Zen Judo, studied judo at the Butokukai in Kyoto.
[3]
These titles have also been used in judo, there are references to Mifune
Hanshi, etc.
[4]
A nice discussion of Shogo can be had at: http://www.koryu.com/library/mskoss9.html
what the hell is a black belt?
WHAT THE HELL IS A BLACK BELT RANK?
By Hayward Nishioka
I once asked a high ranking friend of mine, “What is a Shodan?” How does one know if one is a first degree black belt, or a second, or a third for that matter? Is it that a person can beat a certain number of other practitioners? If so, how many, and of what quality? He couldn’t answer the question with any degree of conviction. He just said, “I know he doesn’t look like a white belt or even a sankyu. (third degree brown belt) I asked this question because I was at one time a member of four American promotion committees on or about the same time, and each one of them had different criteria’s for shodan. Even within the same organization’s criteria, weird differences arose. I also noticed that internationally many of our U.S. brown belts would easily beat Japanese shodans. But, that’s where it usually stopped. Once they got to nidan and sandan it was a different story. There seemed to be more Picasso art than Newtonian science to how judoka got promoted, and I was somewhat confused, as I am sadly even to this day.
The following are a few thoughts on this most perplexing but soul searching subject, rank promotions. Everyone who sits on a rank promotion committee or is to be elevated to a high rank in judo should be required to write a paper on the subject in order to comprehend the complexities involved in this process we take for granted as a natural progression of our sport and way of life, judo. Well, what are you waiting for? Try starting with the sentence, “ I should be a ____dan because - - - - - -
Who decides who is to be promoted? Is being tough the
only qualification? Can a higher rank always beat a lower rank? What about a
red and white belt? Can they beat all lower ranks? What about red belts? Why
don’t we see these higher ranks compete? If they’re so good why don’t we see
them winning at the World Championship tournaments? Obviously it’s not just
about winning but what causes our minds to equate higher rank to higher
physical ability? What causes this obsession for higher rank when we don’t even
know what it represents or whether we are truly eligible for the thing we know
nothing about? Why is everyone trying so hard to get the next higher rank? What
is the value of a belt ranking system? What does it all mean?
Before Kano and the Meiji restoration there was jiujitsu.
People then just practiced in ordinary kimono; usually a hakama (pant/skirt
looking thing) and uwagi (thick jacket type material). Because of the social
agenda of the times when Japan was throwing out old ideas of feudalism and
bringing new ideas from the West, activities aligned to the old samurai ways
such as kenjitsu, karate, jiujitsu were thought anachronistic and slated to be
eliminated. It was the time of the “Last Samurai.” It was Jigoro Kano who
stepped in to save the day. Dr. Kano’s interest in education, physical culture,
and English, and of course his love of his own activity of judo, plus his
political connections that helped to save the martial arts in Japan. His English
language skills allowed him access to Western ideas that were so favorable to
the Meiji government of the time. Among these Western ideas was the burgeoning
importance of sports as a means of developing the vitality of a Nation’s
citizens both physically as well as culturally. From about the mid 1850’s to
the 1880’s came an on-slot of then new sporting events such as ice hockey,
baseball, basketball, and football encompassing the values of planning, skill
development, team work, courage, quick thinking, discipline, and much more.
Kano felt that Judo (then thought of as a feudal martial art) could also be
transformed into a sport but it had to be packaged differently. Essentially
this is how many of the Japanese martial arts of the time, considered as part of
the old feudal system, came to be preserved.
Philosophically, Dr. Kano was quick to note that rather
than judo being a means of offense and defense that it was used as a means of
elevating ones life. To drive this point home he promulgated his maxims of “self
perfection, mutual welfare and benefit and maximum efficiency with minimum
effort.” He said that there were three levels at which an individual could
train in judo: One, as a means of self defense, two, to cultivate the body and
ones mind, and three, to do this for the betterment of society.
Additionally he changed the look of judo by developing a specialized work out uniform called a judogi. In line with the idea of Western sports clothing it utilized pants rather than the traditional hakama. The upper garment was made of a stronger weaved material resembling the type of coats then worn by Japanese firemen. The color of the uniform was an off color white, and was shorter in the pants and sleeve than found today. The most dramatic difference however was the belt that was worn. By 1884 there were two colors; white to denote a beginner or mudansha and black belt by advanced or yudansha. The belt was an outward manifestation of the station or level one had attained in judo through hard practice. Other martial arts such as karate, aikido, jiujitsu, kyudo, bojitsu, iaido,’ and kendo, followed suite and utilized the belt ranking system as well.
In Tokugawa Japan jiujitsu students were awarded
certificates with the titles of shoden, chuden, okuden, menkyo, or kaiden
according to “Jigoro Kano and the Kodokan.” With a certificate however there
was no way to display it. It sat at home on the shelf. With Kano there was now
an immediate visual incentive to work toward-- the black belt. The very first
black belts were given to Tomita Tsuneyoshi and Saigo Shiro in August of 1883.
To this day it has represented excellence in performance and is coveted by
millions.
As judo membership grew over time, higher ranks were
given out. The first fifth dan was awarded to Tomita in 1888 but it wasn’t till
some 10 years latter that the first sixth dan was awarded to Yamashita,
Yoshitsugu and Yokoyama, Sakujiro in 1898. The very first 10th dan was awarded
to Yamashita, Yoshitsugu in 1935, some 53 years after many hard practices and monumental
achievements in the development of judo, and this only posthumously by the
founder. Many of the early belt ranks were given directly by Dr. Kano but as
membership increased a Council was established, overseen by the founder.
Under the Kodokan Council criteria were established and
read as follows under:
Article 10 Consideration for promotion is based on the candidate’s character, technical proficiency in kata and randori, knowledge of judo, application of judo training, achievements in judo and so forth. Candidacy will be judged in accordance with the following:
a) If the candidate is lacking in character, he/she will not be promoted even they meet other requirements.
b) Those deemed to be of good character and who train diligently, applying their judo skills and knowledge to daily life, and those who have made achievements through judo maybe compensated for technical inadequacies to a certain degree.
c) The assessment of judo techniques will emphasize posture, balance and poise in execution.
d) In regards to knowledge of judo, candidates to promotion to shodan or above must show how they place importance on their judo experience
(Kodokan Council Regulations printed in Judo Nenkan, 1925)
Article 10 Consideration for promotion is based on the candidate’s character, technical proficiency in kata and randori, knowledge of judo, application of judo training, achievements in judo and so forth. Candidacy will be judged in accordance with the following:
a) If the candidate is lacking in character, he/she will not be promoted even they meet other requirements.
b) Those deemed to be of good character and who train diligently, applying their judo skills and knowledge to daily life, and those who have made achievements through judo maybe compensated for technical inadequacies to a certain degree.
c) The assessment of judo techniques will emphasize posture, balance and poise in execution.
d) In regards to knowledge of judo, candidates to promotion to shodan or above must show how they place importance on their judo experience
(Kodokan Council Regulations printed in Judo Nenkan, 1925)
After the death of Dr. Kano the
council continued on, however due to WW II, promotional activity, at least at
the higher levels, slowed down and didn’t resume to it’s full potential until
after the Mac Arthur restrictions on the practice of martial arts in Japan was
lifted. Not withstanding the war judo still flourished in other parts of the
world. Europe, the America’s, Asia, Oceania, went on to develop their own
promotional system’s catering to local needs but still mimicking the precepts
first promulgated by Jigoro Kano; that of technical proficiency, knowledge of judo
theory, continuing education, the use of judo in one’s daily life, and
character.
In the United States judo was
heavily practiced in areas with a high concentration of first and second
generation Japanese, and didn’t become popular with the Americans until after
WWII as returning service men from Japan searched out places to continue their
practice. Much of judo was under the control of first generation Japanese who
felt that judo was a cultural right rather than an athletic activity. Much of
the rank promotion system back before and even after the War was linked to the
Kodokan. It wasn’t until the mid to late 60’s when a more objective system was
implemented by Phil Porter, making it easier for non-Japanese to be promoted in
judo through the USJA.
While the system worked well for the
promotion of lower ranks, sandan and below. Ranks of fourth and higher in
America were, and still are, a puzzle with missing pieces. Ranks up to sandan
can easily be compared with other organizations through competition. If your
sandan’s are losing to the other organizations shodan’s something is wrong but
adjustments can easily be made.
“Ah but what of promotions given to
older judoka who started later in life, and did not have the opportunity to
compete at a high level and build a history? Were they not helping in the
development of judo?” Even if one were to receive up to a sandan through time
in grade and through his efforts as a part of the leadership staff as an
assistant instructor, instructor, coach, organizer, clinician, representative,
committee member/chair, or officer, would this not seem acceptable? For any
rank higher than sandan the individual has to be of exceptional quality and
dedication to be equated to a competitor of fourth and fifth dan. After all, this
is about judo and judo deals with proficiency, or does it?
Here is where things begin to get a little muddled. For all the champions that we have produced over the years we have not produced champions who would remain to become good leaders during or after their competitive years. Our judo organizations have done little to provide opportunities or incentives to encourage growth beyond championships. It is only haphazardly that those who compete and stay on in various capacities are somehow elevated for this thing we call “time in grade”. What is perplexing is that this same “time in grade” standard is often times applied to those who have not had a serious competitive record but have stayed on, and have contributed to the running of the organizations. So now what does it mean to be a higher rank? It doesn’t seem to mean that the higher the dan, the more one is proficient in judo. Rank now when issued seems to become a tacit, collateral or payment for organizational skills and services rendered. That now, the person who has volunteered his services stands equal to the “man in the arena.”
To the common public, and to even more structured organizations like Six Sigma, the perception is that the higher the belt rank the more stellar the participant. Again the perception of proficiency is predicated on the best of the competitor side of the equation and not on who has been around a long time or has friends in high places that have been given a possibly inflated rank to them. The inflated rank, also as with money matters, lessons the quality with quantity.
The International Judo Federation, in its attempt to belatedly control rank, has issued a proclamation that they will be the only body to confer ninth and tenth dans. Furthermore that they will only recognize ranks issued by National Governing Bodies; in the United States that would be USA Judo. Not withstanding USA Judo has an agreement with the other two larger U.S. Judo organizations that all three would reciprocally honor each others ranks. Things would not be so bad except for the fact that the United States has more high ranking black belts with less skill level and knowledge than most European countries. It may be that the United States has more ninth dan’s than France. France has a judo population of well over 500,000 registered members while the US has about 25,000 registered members.
For the French, Rokudan is gateway rank leading to higher rank. To attain this rank a very large hall where 4 to 6 mat areas may be installed is rented. The candidates vying for rokudan must now perform before a panel of higher ranking individuals. First they select a technique such as ouchigari, seoinage, etc. and demonstrate at least 25 different ways to execute that one technique. Next they select a kata and demonstrate it. There is also a presentation of ones theory of judo, a written examination, and a demonstration of how one would conduct a judo lesson. The examination is an all day affair that many say the fifth dan must prepare for at least one year in advance. The result being that each person promoted to rokudan is assuredly a proficient judoka capable of meeting high standards. It is little wonder that France has a 500,000+ membership. It has an army of really capable judoka. Additionally if one wants to teach judo in France an additional certification is required. The certification is sponsored through the ministry of education and is a physical education degree.
Now for tough love to begin. This article would become meaningless without really looking honestly at our promotion system. The truth may hurt many of the ones that I have come to respect and honor and serve with, but unless these issues are brought to the foreground they will not be addressed for the betterment of judo in the United States.
1. Integrity – Mel Applebaum once
wrote to his friend the following:
“The topic of promotion is not a simple matter. High dan grades reflect significant expertise and contribution to the sport and must be administered by High dans with integrity. On the lower dan levels, competition is the main path to promotion. Promotion procedures must be fair and consistent and not influenced by the payment of money, as in the way some in the past have literally sold rank and disgraced our sport. It is similar to those claiming doctorates and using the title doctor from degree mills and on line degree factories. It diminishes the value of all degrees.”
“The topic of promotion is not a simple matter. High dan grades reflect significant expertise and contribution to the sport and must be administered by High dans with integrity. On the lower dan levels, competition is the main path to promotion. Promotion procedures must be fair and consistent and not influenced by the payment of money, as in the way some in the past have literally sold rank and disgraced our sport. It is similar to those claiming doctorates and using the title doctor from degree mills and on line degree factories. It diminishes the value of all degrees.”
In the past, as it is today, ranks can be bought. It could be an outright bargained for exchange or it could be more sophisticated in nature as with donations, dinners, junkets, favors, services, etc. in exchange for rank. A question was once asked if it may be justified in that the monies exchanged for rank is truly in the service of judo or may be at a crucial juncture where the life or death of the organization is at the heart of the matter, what then? After all rank promotions can be a viable source of income for an organization.
In recent years there has been a rise in the cost of rank promotions world wide. This most likely started by the Kodokan whose promotion costs are very high (in the thousands of dollars). Taking a cue from this action the IJF has also raised its promotional fees as a means of raising monies to fund its programs as well.
These increases raise another question for the Japanese as well as others, “Do I spend my money on this promotion I am qualified to receive or spend it on the family or other needs?” More importantly, am I really worth the rank for which I am putting out the money to receive this rank or is the organization using me as a source of income? For those with expendable income it is not a problem to shell out the big bucks for the privilege of being named amongst the esoterically honored few.
2. Equality – When thinking of this
word one thinks of two words, equal and quality. Is the quality of one side of
an equal sign the same as the other side? When looking at seventh, eighth,
ninth and tenth degree black belts from Japan, Korea, France, Germany, Holland,
and England to name a few powerhouses can we say that our recipients are equal
to theirs? Have our candidates competed and practice at a high level? Are they
held to high standards? Have they done as much as say a Neil Adams, or Nobuyuki
Sato to promote judo. Adams is a eighth and Sato a ninth dan. Have they
contributed to the betterment of judo?
Granted these two men are of exceptional quality and are at the top of the rating scale and perhaps America due to its situations should be given some slack. Still, in spite of the need for incentives to encourage judoka to stay on, rank as a currency has to be personally deliberated and weighed against our social needs.
Granted these two men are of exceptional quality and are at the top of the rating scale and perhaps America due to its situations should be given some slack. Still, in spite of the need for incentives to encourage judoka to stay on, rank as a currency has to be personally deliberated and weighed against our social needs.
3. Role Model Consistency – “What’s
good for the goose, (should be) is good for the gander.” While exceptions to
the rule do exist, some rules are blatantly disregarded and run contrary the
ideals of judo. At a fairly recent promotion meeting a high ranking member of a
promotion committee suddenly proposed to elevate another member to a rank equal
to his own rank. This would not have been out of the ordinary but for the fact
that there was no prior submittal of promotional forms of any kind to
deliberate upon. This is highly unusual since there was no written record of
past performance, kata, character reference, nothing. Not even his name and
address. Other candidates because they lacked the listing of one kata or even
one line not filled in were not passed for promotion yet those within the
committee were given a pass. Furthermore the following year the person who was
promoted proposed that the person who nominated him the year before should now
be raised to the next level higher. This also may have well have been a
deserved promotion but for the fact that it also came with no paperwork and
possibly no payment.
Should not those who lead, lead by example? Or is it that the strong do what they will and the weak suffer what they must? What was exceedingly bad was that the rest of the board of examiners voted to pass these two very high promotions while flunking others who merely forgot to fill in a line or two. Fortunately or unfortunately this author was not privy to a vote or party to this organizational decision.
Should not those who lead, lead by example? Or is it that the strong do what they will and the weak suffer what they must? What was exceedingly bad was that the rest of the board of examiners voted to pass these two very high promotions while flunking others who merely forgot to fill in a line or two. Fortunately or unfortunately this author was not privy to a vote or party to this organizational decision.
4. Rank Inflation - In the 1950’s a
sixth degree black belt was a rarity. Today it is fairly common place. At the
current rate of escalation of promotions to high dan America could see its
ranks swell with high dans and maybe even a tenth dan or two. Imagine
that!
Two of the three U.S. organizations have already had tenth dan promotions. There are quite a few who are young enough to make tenth dan through the criteria of “time in grade.” Some may not have even competed at a high level or even contributed greatly to the development of judo, but they will have “time in grade.”
5. In the end the rank promotion
certificate is only a piece of paper. It allows no increase in income. No added
fame. No added power. Those who flaunt rank are thought of inversely
proportionately. Those who have high rank undeservedly are smiled at outwardly
and laughed at inwardly by those in the know.
High rank is just a confirmation that a group of high ranks have confirmed that you have met their organizational criteria to be promoted. Usually if the group and/or its criteria is of low quality the rank may not mean as much. For example if your promotion committee consists of sixth degrees who have never been in high level competition or been in a leadership role and they are voting to raise you to seventh, eighth or ninth it would not mean as much as a group of seventh, eighth, or ninth degree black belts who have been in high level competition or leadership roles voting to promote you. Even then should a seventh or eighth be voting on elevating someone to become a ninth or tenth dan?
In conclusion I am reminded of a U.S. Navy Admiral whose shame was so great upon being discovered wearing a campaign ribbon on his chest for which he did not participate in nor deserve to wear that he committed suicide rather than face his peers disdain. I am in no way advocating this type of behavior for judo, I am merely pointing out that some representations of honor are life and death meaningful to some but not to other. While judo is not the military, nonetheless it raises the question of what motivates people to want to claim credit for going down a pathway they have not traveled.
Sooo, back to the question; what the hell is a black belt rank?
For an answer let’s look outside the box. Let’s not look at who wears the belt but who devised the system. What might his motivations be for wanting a rank grading system. While the following is but conjecture, this author thinks the founder understood the need for order, hierarchy, self esteem, and the human need to fulfill goals. The black belt ranking system does all of these things and more. It perpetuates the sport by meeting the needs of its participants. However, maintaining excellence in the system and under changing social conditions requires training, knowledge, judgment, integrity, and, dedication Dr. Kano understood change. That is how he changed the idea of martial arts from activities of destruction to one of sports and character building. That is how he changed the use of Japanese street clothes to uniforms and the more visible belt ranking system. Even within the belt rank system as his students increased in numbers and in age he later added five more rank levels with concomitant requirements in order to keep interest levels constant over a lifetime of participation. For Dr. Kano judo was a work in progress and had he lived on to this present day he would surely have devised a better measure of competency than time in grade.
If he were alive today he would most likely look at elements or judo that would increase membership, increase performance levels, increase an understanding and acceptance of judo. As per increasing membership, attention should be given to those who run judo dojos and those who could be trained to do so. Performance wise clinics and certifications are important. Certifications are more important than clinics since certifications usually require course work and testing. Amongst the more successful of the certification programs are those of kata and refereeing, both having very stringent examinations, but their success records speak for them self. Refereeing has several levels that are tested for: local, regional, national, continental, and international “B,” “A,” and now rostered “A;” those qualified to do the World Championships and Olympic Games. The National level referees are further divided into “N”(National) 3,2, and 1. “N 1” being the highest. Any referee not meeting the higher “N 1” standard can be dropped to “N 2” or even “N3” by the examiners, who are usually “A” referees.
Along with these certifications other areas that currently do not exist but that could aid in the development of judo might be as follows:
Instructor, Coach, Assistant coach, Assistant instructor, Tournament Director, Public Relations, Sport Information Director, Writing judo, Grant writing, Dojo Management, Match Making – Scoring – and Timing, Judo Games and Drills, Judo Story Telling, Judo and the Media, Sports Psychology, Biomechanics, Exercise Physiology, Running a Meeting, Running a Judo Camp, Judo Clinics, Master Instructor.
While there are an array of other certifications that could aid in the development of judo the important part is that there is standardization and acceptance. That means there has to be written documentation and materials with tests that have been agreed upon as to what is necessary for that particular certification. As with refereeing there also has to be follow up and maintenance of a level of performance or the individual is dropped lower on a hierarchy scale. To run these types of certification programs requires persons of integrity, energy, insight, and a feel for doing the right thing.
It would make more sense to elevate individuals possessing a number of these certifications to a higher rank than an accumulation of a lot of time in grade were the individual did nothing but wait for the years to pass. Just think, wouldn’t an individual who had certifications as an instructor, judo drills, biomechanics, exercise physiology, kata, refereeing, tournament directing, etc., be more valuable and worthy of higher rank than having time in grade and simple points. Wouldn’t such a certification system increase the knowledge base and performance for U. S. Judo and at the same time professionalize judo, where Qualified Presenters of Judo Certifications could receive remunerations for services rendered.
As Porky Pig so often say at the end of a Looney Tunes Cartoon, “badabadat That’s all folks”, I’ve presented a few of the problems of our ranking system but I’ve also offered a solution. If we are not careful and change we may well become the laughing stock of the world of judo.
This of course is only one avenue of deciding the rank of an individual rather than leave the reader with only the problem to think of a solution was also offered.
END
NIWA: the way of the garden
NIWA: the way of the garden[1]
Vern Borgen
It is at this point
that we come to one of the basic paradoxes of Zen thought: Only through form
can we realize emptiness.[2]
I am a gardener. I am also a martial artist. For me
the garden is as much a path as are the martial arts. [I study the way of Kano
Shihan (Judo). I also have been strongly influenced by the teachings of Ueshiba
O-sensei.]
In retrospect it was probably an experience that
occurred in a garden that influenced me to pursue martial arts training.
It was 1977. I had been in Japan for 5 years and a friend
and I were taking a whirlwind tour of Japanese architecture and gardens before
I returned to the United States.
We had been in the Kyoto/Nara area for a few days and
spent the day on the outskirts of Kyoto in the vicinity of the famous rock
garden, Ryoanji.
We had just viewed Ryoanji. It was wonderful, but just
like every other place we had been crowded with tourists. We set out to find
the road less traveled… and as they say, Buddha provides.
The garden we found was not peculiar in any way. It
was rectangular in shape, about 60 feet wide by 200 feet in length. The garden
sloped gently down from the entrance.
From the entrance the view of the lower end of the
garden was obscured by trees and shrubs. At the top of the garden the path was
flanked on either side by small patches of raked gravel carefully enclosed with
a small green hedge. Here low stones were carefully place, each grouping with a
sign board and a name.
It was pretty cool!
Following the path, the garden becomes increasingly
more naturalistic, there is a dry stream bed on the left.
BIG ROCKS
As the path reaches the lower end of the garden it
takes a sharp bend to the left. The view
is skillfully manipulated, so as we round the bend we are almost surprised by a
spectacular pond with large, colorful Koi swimming lazily among water lilies
and cattails.
Koi jump and
sound of water…
I think that it is important here to understand that
these gardens were designed by Zen monks to aid their meditation. Stones and
trees are precisely placed with the teasing charm of incompleteness, to capture
the mind ready for an awakening experience.
My mind was ready that day; the effect of the garden
was overwhelming. I was mentally staggered. There was not a single thought in
my mind for what seemed a very long time but I had no concept of time. I felt
like I had been there forever. I felt a part of that place. It was as
comfortable as home.
My Japanese friend just laughed and nodded
approvingly.
The garden designer had accomplished what he had
intended, I had been led into a direct experience with the garden.
I would suspect that the casual observer would not be
caught in this manner. I was rather like a ripe fruit, ready to fall from the
tree. I had been studying the Japanese language and immersing myself in the
culture since arriving in Japan. I had made a study of Japanese gardens and
architecture.
The experience in the garden was not much different from
one I had 2 years later in the dojo. We
were doing randori, a woman who had a black belt in karate was attacking. It
was a punch to the stomach; my response involved a circular dissipation (probably
kotegaeshi) and then a projection to a rolling fall. As she rolled her long
hair swept the floor and I stepped on it! She still had momentum; my other foot
was in the air… she was going to lose
hair!
And then somehow I picked up my foot… and she rolled
to safety.
For a brief space in time it seemed that I had all the
time in the world, there was no thought process. I was in the moment and acted
without hesitation.
It was that same odd feeling that I had experienced in
the garden a year before. The young lady shared the awakening experience. I
remember being excited, while she was perplexed and cautious.
A lot of time has passed. I have been teaching Judo
for 15 years and gardening for a bit longer. I am still learning.
There is much technical literature to be found on
Japanese gardening, however less information is available on the philosophy of
gardening.
Gardening is a very spiritual art, much akin to kyudo
and practiced much the same as any martial art. You start! And as the years pass you learn.
Keep in mind that a garden doesn’t require a large
space or a tremendous investment in money. Keep it small. Big gardens require
lots of work and lots of money; the Imperial Villa in Kyoto has 17 full time
gardeners.
Some of the best gardens are small. The Zen gardens
associated with the residences of the Tea Masters, are a fine example. Most are
only 3’ by 6’ at best. The custom of the Tea Garden is to have at least 3
items: a small lamp (many are steel or wood), a water basin and some rocks.
The best gardens are very simple and use indigenous materials.
More important that expense or expanse is the time that
the gardener spends in the garden. Like martial arts it is important never to
miss practice. At a minimum, every day sprinkle some water on the garden or
rake the gravel.
Keep your composition sparse. Remember that music is
the space between the notes. Practice good form and it will feel like your
Aikido in time.
Gardening deals with nature, our source. Rocks evoke permanency,
water flexibility, trees grow and change over the years and so do we.
Happy trails.
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