With Summer School fast approaching I thought it might be useful to pass on the philosophical underpinnings of grades in Aikido as well as the principles by which grades are awarded. In this blog article I will pass on the thoughts of the late Tamura Nobuyoshi Shihan (8th Dan) regarding the meaning of each grade and in later articles will go on to discuss how grades are awarded in the UKA. As written by Nobuyoshi TAMURA Shihan the grades are defined as follows:
1 – 初段 SHODAN – The First DAN: SHO represents the beginning, beginner. The body eventually begins to respond to the given commands and to produce technical forms. One can have ambiguous ideas about what Aikido could be. At this point, we must force ourselves to apply the techniques as precisely as possible and to train accurately.
2 – 弐 段 NIDAN – The Second DAN: While more intense mental continuity is being revealed, at the same time strength and speed are added to the first dan rank. This progress perceived by the student as self-development. The jury should feel this progress noticing that the work has a certain form and is evolving towards a certain direction.
3 – 参段 SANDAN – The Third DAN: This is the stage where the kokyu-ryoku concept begins to be understood. It is the start of the spiritual dimension of Aikido. Technical delicacy, sharpness, and effectiveness begin to manifest themselves. The student reaching this point can start to train beginners.
4 – 四段 YONDAN – The Fourth DAN: At this technically advanced level, the principles that guide the techniques begin to be comprehended. It is possible to fill in for the Sensei when it is necessary.
5 – 伍 段 GODAN – The Fifth DAN: The art of Aikido is being liberated from the physical obstacles while it passes beyond one’s spiritual being.
6 – 六 段 ROKUDAN – The Sixth DAN: As techniques become state of the art, movements are fluent and solid. The person who follows her/him must feel the serenity of the progress. Strength and physical flexibility just like the purity of the spirit merge into behaviors and express themselves in life.
7 – 七 段 NANADAN – The Seventh DAN: One is liberated from the obscuration of self-being and converges into his true self without any devotion to worldly pleasures.
8 – 八段 HACHIDAN – The Eighth DAN: Beyond life and death, with a clear and open mind, in the ability to bring the opposites together, s/he refuses to fight, refuses to have enemies. Unguided and uninvited, s/he is the eternal winner. It is explained with the words of O Sensei “To face the enemy, I just have to stand without saying a word.” This is not the stage that everything ends. One should remember the soul of a beginner. Even the brightest water can disappear in a marsh.
I would like to thank Mark Machin for reminding me of; and supplying the above text from Tamura Shihan and would only add these comments from Okamura Shihan – a pre-war student of O’Sensei – who said (and I’m paraphrasing here) “Up until 3rd Dan everything is technical, 4th & 5th Dan are where you find your own way [in Aikido] and after 6th Dan you can do what the hell you like” which I think puts the above text in a nutshell. Philip Smith Shihan
