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Old 01-13-2008, 06:05 AM   #22
L. Camejo
 
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Dojo: Ontario Martial Arts
Location: Mississauga, Ontario
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Re: "Larger Named Youngest US Second-Degree Aikido Blackbelt&qu

Quote:
Craig Hocker wrote: View Post
Tomiki style schools as a rule do have shorter time requirements to Shodan (1.5-2 yrs) and move faster through higher dan ranks. As for visiting these schools in Texas, it stands out quite a bit when you visit look at the length of training and time in rank. Just shows that cross organization rank comparison doesn't mean diddly.
I think the above statement is a gross generalization and is basically, totally incorrect.

Let's look at the evidence:

This is the link for a grading syllabus used by the Ki Society Schools that has been quoted on aikiweb here by Mr. Hocker as being a "more typical standard" syllabus - http://www.kiaikido.org/Resources/Te...tCriteria.html .

This is the link for the official Shodokan syllabus taken from the Shodokan Hombu site - http://homepage2.nifty.com/shodokan/en/shinsa.html

A quick comparison will show the following:

1) Shodokan Kyu ranks start further away from Shodan than Ki Society - 8th Kyu vs 5th Kyu, indicating a longer time to Shodan.

2) For all equivalent ranks from (5th kyu to Nidan at least) the Shodokan minimum time requirements are more than that required by Ki Society.

I could have compared other schools but since the claim was made by a Ki Society member I thought it best to make a direct comparison first.

Finally, the Dan tests at the 2007 Internationals were conducted by the Technical Director of Shodokan Aikido, Shihan Tetsuro Nariyama 8th Dan. Nariyama Shihan is basically the technical head of the system so imho if he oversaw the test and made the call that Mr. Larger be awarded Nidan then one would be hard pressed to challenge that decision based on knowledge of the system.

Imho if anyone can award Shodokan rank that is outside of normal testing guidelines it is Nariyama Shihan. The testing syllabus is a guide for Sensei to judge a student's development as an art expands. It's a way for people who may not know how to judge development in the system to do so without the need of the system heads such as Nariyama Shihan.

It is important not to make incorrect comparisons with things that appear the same but are not. The "Tomiki" Aikido found in Texas is not Shodokan Aikido, though we share the same root which is the Aikido of Professor Tomiki. This link - http://www.tomiki.org/members.html gives a listing of all the Shodokan/JAA affiliated dojo in the USA, you will not see any from Texas.

Hence, Mr. Hocker's comparison is false, matching the article, which is a marketing piece based on one Aikido system (Shodokan) against his experiences with another aikido system from Texas (most likely Fugakukai). It's like comparing a Ki Society article against personal experiences with Kokikai Aikido imho.

Best regards.
LC

--Mushin Mugamae - No Mind No Posture. He who is possessed by nothing possesses everything.--
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