Rupert Atkinson

In Asia grading to Shodan takes only one or two years and Asia is where the saying that shodan is just a beginner comes from. Simply, they know all the forms but are often not that good at them. In the West it can take from five to ten years in some schools - even though they probably knew all the forms in outline after their second of third year. For example, one of my aiki-orgs in the UK typically had one grading a year. Obviously then, in the West, a serious student of five to ten years who gets their shodan is not really a beginner in the Asian scheme of things. But it is a good idea to think so since it encourages further development.