The Yudansha meal

Zenshin dojo operates a traditional hierarchical structure with members split into two basic groups, the first, Kyu (pronounced Q), and the second, Dan.  The terminology has its roots in the popular strategy board game, Go.  Centuries ago players would be ranked according to their experience and skill.  Confusingly the more junior the player in terms of experience, the numerically higher their kyu grade, in other words first kyu was the highest rank.  Conversely the ranking of senior players, dans, numerically were numbered in a manner more easily understood i.e. one being the lowest.

In a martial arts context and in particular within the karate world, the kyu and dan approach to grading is ubiquitous. The coloured belt (obi) rankings often differ, but generally, the most junior rank within the majority of karate groups, is either sixth, seventh or eighth kyu.  Zenshin dojo ranks begin at “Novice” which equates to seventh kyu, although this title is never used.  Red belt is the first grade i.e. sixth kyu.

Kyu grade practitioners are known collectively as “Mudansha” meaning those without dan!

Zenshin dojo tries to walk the fine line between respecting and understanding the traditions and heritage of karate-do, without becoming so immersed in the formality of Japanese etiquette so often seen in other karate clubs, sometimes to the point of obsession. 

For many karate groups dan grades can go as high as tenth dan. The problem is that for most people, particularly from western cultures, it’s easy to believe a tenth dan must be “better” than a ninth dan.  In reality it just doesn’t work that way.  Dan ranks can be awarded for administrative or honorary reasons; these have nothing to do with karate skill or prowess.   Furthermore Karate is an unregulated, diverse industry so comparisons are almost impossible.  One group’s tenth dan may be another group’s third dan etc.  For example, American “Great Grandmaster Fred Villari” is a fifteenth dan.  His website extols he is “the highest rank one can attain in a martial art.” At the risk of sounding disrespectful his exalted grade may be more of a commercial lure than evidence of his karate competence.  By contrast, Gichin Funakoshi the Okinawan man widely accepted as first introducing karate to Japan was, after a lifetime of practice, a mere fifth dan.  This brings us nicely to the Zenshin dojo dan grade ranking.

Funakoshi Sensei

Rob first practiced the “Shotokai” style (see previous blog) with Mitsusuke Harada sensei.  Harada, in common with every other practitioner from that particular lineage, remained a fifth dan until the day he died having been awarded the rank in 1956!  Consequently the Zenshin dojo dan grades rank from one to five only.

The collective name for dan grade practitioners in “Yudansha”.

In 2005, the very first meal for Yudansha  took place.  It was an opportunity for those most senior Zenshin dojo members to meet, eat, drink and generally enjoy each other’s company in a formal yet relaxed environment. It was also an occasion for Rob to recognise and celebrate individual achievements and present awards.  From that time the Yudansha-kai, (Association of black belts) was formed.

2005

 

Since then the Yudansha meal has become an established annual Zenshin dojo tradition, missed only once in 2020 as a result of the global pandemic.  Occasionally guests are invited, but essentially the evening bonds black belt members together as a community within a community expressly dedicated to the future preservation and long-term growth of the club.