Quote:
Maggie Schill wrote:
Back on topic.
This is O'Sensei's opinion for how long you should be training before Shodan(lowest grade, first grade):
"In your training do not be in a hurry, for it takes a minimum of ten years to master the basics and advance to the first rung. Never think of yourself as an all-knowing, perfected master; you must continue to train daily with your friends and students and progress together in Aikido"- O'Sensei
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I don't get how that is Osensei's opinion on a grading system that was largely being built by his son at the time. He mentions mastering the
basics and taking at least ten years to reach the "first rung" - not first dan (I wouldn't mind seeing the original Japanese that John Stevens translated). In any case, the founder handed out plenty of third dans within ten-year periods and
shodans even sooner. Saito sensei also said that one doesn't master the basics until
sandan. It seems to me the founder's warning was to the student focusing merely on rank rather than attaining the basic skills of the art.