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Old 04-17-2007, 07:39 AM   #1
Aran Bright
Dojo: Griffith Aikido Yuishinkai
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How many Shihans?

Can anyone tell me how many shihans where recognised by the aikikai at the time of O'sensei's passing?

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Old 04-17-2007, 08:47 AM   #2
Chris Li
 
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Re: How many Shihans?

Quote:
Aran Bright wrote: View Post
Can anyone tell me how many shihans where recognised by the aikikai at the time of O'sensei's passing?
That's easy - zero.

Best,

Chris

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Old 04-17-2007, 01:34 PM   #3
Dewey
Location: St. Louis, MO
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Re: How many Shihans?

Quote:
Christopher Li wrote: View Post
That's easy - zero.

Best,

Chris
What about Tohei? Not a rhetorical question here...
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Old 04-17-2007, 03:11 PM   #4
Chris Li
 
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Re: How many Shihans?

Quote:
Brian Dewey wrote: View Post
What about Tohei? Not a rhetorical question here...
There was no official "shihan" certification until fairly recently. Normal practice in Japan was (and more or less still is) that anybody 6th dan and up would be called "shihan", so the answer to the question "officially recognized as shihan" would be "zero".

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Chris

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Old 04-17-2007, 07:10 PM   #5
raul rodrigo
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Re: How many Shihans?

Quote:
Christopher Li wrote: View Post
There was no official "shihan" certification until fairly recently. Normal practice in Japan was (and more or less still is) that anybody 6th dan and up would be called "shihan", so the answer to the question "officially recognized as shihan" would be "zero".

Best,

Chris
Wasn't Tohei named "shihan bucho" of Hombu in 1956? Wouldn't that make him officially a shihan?

R
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Old 04-17-2007, 07:47 PM   #6
Chris Li
 
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Re: How many Shihans?

Quote:
Raul Rodrigo wrote: View Post
Wasn't Tohei named "shihan bucho" of Hombu in 1956? Wouldn't that make him officially a shihan?

R
No, that would make him "head of the department" ("bucho") for "instructors" ("shihan").

"Shihan" is just another word for "instructor", and there were never any "official" designations until, as I said before, fairly recently. So far as I know, most Japanese don't even realize that there are "official" designations now - Japanese instructors have been called "shihan" for years without the "official certification" that foreigners are required to receive.

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Chris

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Old 04-22-2007, 06:43 AM   #7
Aran Bright
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Re: How many Shihans?

Quote:
Christopher Li wrote: View Post
That's easy - zero.

Best,

Chris
Thank you, much appreciated, perhaps a revised question would be how many 6th dan and above where there at the time of O'sensei's passing.

Aran

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Old 04-22-2007, 07:53 AM   #8
Ecosamurai
 
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Re: How many Shihans?

When I saw this thread title I thought the rest of the post would be:

".....does it take to change a ligthbulb?"



Mike

"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."
-Martin Luther King Jr
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Old 04-22-2007, 10:26 AM   #9
Mark Freeman
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Re: How many Shihans?

Quote:
Mike Haft wrote: View Post
When I saw this thread title I thought the rest of the post would be:

".....does it take to change a ligthbulb?"



Mike
One, but only if the lightbulb makes the first move

Regards,

Mark

Success is having what you want. Happiness is wanting what you have.
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Old 04-22-2007, 11:14 AM   #10
crbateman
 
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Re: How many Shihans?

Quote:
Mike Haft wrote: View Post
".....does it take to change a ligthbulb?"
Hmmm... Tenkan on top of a ladder... Interesting.
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Old 04-23-2007, 04:59 AM   #11
Aran Bright
Dojo: Griffith Aikido Yuishinkai
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Re: How many Shihans?

Quote:
Mike Haft wrote: View Post
When I saw this thread title I thought the rest of the post would be:

".....does it take to change a ligthbulb?"



Mike
Yeah I thought of making that joke...

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