USMA MARTIAL ARTS PROMOTION TIMES
Our
United States Martial Arts Association is the largest unified
Martial Arts association in the world as far as we know. We now
have over 1.100 different Martial Arts registered and recognized.
New Ulster Steel Fighting is the latest (April, 2010).
Our
entire USMA rank system is based on two vastly important principles
(1) We desire to show respect to every sincere
Martial Artist, of any race, creed or country. Also (2) We have an
overwhelming desire to be fair, to give rank
and credit where rank and credit is due. This is in line with
Plato’s concept of justice. We have tried to
eliminate politics completely from Martial Arts ranks.
HERE IS
A ROUGH OUTLINE OF WHAT MARTIAL ARTS RANK YOU SHOULD HAVE
In the
detailed chart on page three of this essay, you will find more
details concerning time in grade for each rank. But first, here is
a rough outline of what rank you should have.
If you
have trained in the Martial Arts for three years, YOU SHOULD BE 1st
DAN.
If you
have trained in the Martial Arts for five years, YOU SHOULD BE 2nd
DAN.
If you
have trained in the Martial Arts for nine years, YOU SHOULD BE 3rd
DAN.
If you
have trained in the Martial Arts for 14 years, YOU SHOULD BE 4th
DAN.
If you
have trained in the Martial Arts for 20 years, YOU SHOULD BE 5th
DAN.
If you
have trained in the Martial Arts for 28 years, YOU SHOULD BE 6th
DAN.
If you
have trained in the Martial Arts for 37 years, YOU SHOULD BE 7th
DAN.
If you
have trained in the Martial Arts for 47 years, YOU SHOULD BE 8th
DAN.
Promotions to 9th and 10th Dan are not made
only on the basis of time. Each promotion to these ranks is
individually considered, often by our Board of Governors.
What
does this mean to you?
It means that at last you have a chance to be treated fairly by a
large international Martial Arts association to obtain the Budo
ranks you truly deserve. Have you been training for 35 years,
and teaching your own club for the past 20, only to have your rank
held down to 3rd Dan? If you have, that’s not
unusual. Join the Club! But really, if you are a teacher,
why are you still holding student’s rank? Let me assure you that in
Japan, with this kind of background you would be 6th or 7th
Dan. I lived in Japan for two years, and am quite familiar with
their rank traditions.
Remember
that the above is only a guideline for you. Often, promotions may
be made for less time in the arts, depending upon your individual
record. Your achievements and effort are unique. You are one of a
kind, and we will study your record carefully to determine exactly
where you should be.
How will
we determine that you are a bona fide Martial Artist?
First, until you are proven to be a liar, we will presume that you
are honest! I know this is unusual, but please read my essay,
“Martial Artists Aren’t Liars!” which is on our USMA website:
www.wwmaa.org . This essay will give you our approach to
trusting our fellow Martial Artists.
To be
evaluated for registration or promotion in Martial Arts rank, we
expect you to become a USMA member. To do this, download a USMA
form from our website and send it to us with the $50 Life Membership
fee. Send the form and fee to us at: USMA, 8011 Mariposa Avenue,
Citrus Heights, CA 95610, and include the resume described below.
Your
Martial Arts Resume.
In addition to our trust in you, if we do not know personally of
your experience and your record, we expect you to give us a one page
resume of your Martial Arts career. This should include, but is not
limited to: (1) your age, (2) the year you started Martial Arts
training, (3) the art you first practiced, and all the other arts
you have studied and the year you started each one, (4) the names of
your first and other teachers and the years you studied with them,
(5) your competitive record, (6) your highest rank in each of your
arts and the year you were promoted to that rank, (7) how many
champions at any level you have coached, (8) the number and names of
clubs you have started, (9) name of your present club, (10) whether
or not you are now the coach of your club, (11) the year you first
started coaching your own Martial Arts club, and (12) a description
of any special achievements you have in the Martial Arts such as
creating books and DVDs, or founding your own system.
From
this resume, we will determine, using the above outline and the
other materials contained in this essay, what ranks you should have,
and will immediately send you a USMA registration and promotion form
giving you a chance to have your ranks registered and also to be
promoted in Martial Arts rank.
DEFINITIONS OF THE DIFFERENT MARTIAL ARTS RANKS
The USMA
accepts the tradition, common around the world, that ranks may be
described by words as well as numbers. Here is a brief outline of
the traditional description of the ranks.
1st,
2nd, and 3rd Dan (Step or degree0 are
students of the Martial Arts. A 3rd Dan may be a
skillful student, but he is still a student. These players are
taught, usually, only the “shoden,” the beginning knowledge.
4th
and 5th Dan are Renshi, skillful technicians or
fighters. They are now taught the “chuden,” the advanced
techniques.
6th
and 7th Dan are teachers of Budo.
Sometimes the term “Kyoshi” is used for these two ranks.
8th
Dan is considered to be above teacher and below master. An 8th
Dan is often called an important person of Budo. This
rank is usually the final or terminal rank for most Martial
Artists. Sometimes the term “Hanshi” is used for this rank.
9th Dan is called
Master.
10th
Dan is called Grandmaster. In our USMA, 9th
and 10th Dan are exceptional Budoka. They have
fulfilled, to some degree, the criteria set down by the USMA for
promotion to Master and Grandmaster. There is also a tradition in
some arts that the 9th and 10th Dan are taught
the “Okuden,” or “Hiden,” the secret techniques or knowledge.
TABLE OF MINIMUM AND
AVERAGE TIME IN EACH MARTIAL ARTS RANK
Our
system is very traditional. It is quite similar to the system used
in Japan for Judo, JuJitsu, Karate and many other arts. We consider
that the key requirement for promotion is years of training. Based
on this “years of training and service” concept, here is an outline
of the times a martial Artist should serve in each black belt rank
before being eligible for promotion, plus the times usually served.
Note that the minimum time in grade for 2nd through 10th
Dan is always the same number of years as the dan grade held. In
general, this is the system that is used, world-wide, to make Budo
promotions.
|
RANK |
MINIMUM TIME TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR PROMOTION |
USUAL TIME SPENT BEFORE PROMOTION |
USUAL TOTAL TIME IN THE MARTIAL ARTS |
EXAMPLE USING O-SENSEI’S CAREER |
|
1st Dan |
2 yrs training |
3 yrs |
3 yrs |
3 yrs, total 3 (1951-1954) |
|
2nd Dan |
1 yr, total 3 |
2 yrs |
5 yrs |
2 yrs, total 5 (1954-56) |
|
3rd Dan |
2 yrs, total 5 |
3-4 yrs |
8-9 yrs |
3 yrs, total 8 (1956-59) |
|
4th Dan |
3 yrs, total 8 |
4-5 yrs |
12-14 yrs |
4 yrs, total 12 (1959-63) |
|
5th Dan |
4 yrs, total 12 |
5-6 yrs |
17-20 yrs |
7 yrs, total 19 (1963-70) |
|
6th Dan |
5 yrs, total 17 |
6-8 yrs |
23-28 yrs |
3 yrs, total 22 (1970-73) |
|
7th Dan |
6 yrs, total 23 |
7-9 yrs |
30-37 yrs |
7 yrs, total 30 (1973-81) |
|
8th Dan |
7 yrs, total 30 |
8-10 yrs |
38-47 yrs |
8 yrs, total 38 (1981-89) |
|
9th Dan |
8 yrs, total 38 |
9-11 yrs |
47-55 yrs |
5 yrs, total 43 (1989-94) |
|
10th Dan |
9 yrs, total 47 |
10-15 yrs |
56-65 yrs |
11 yrs, total 54 (1994-05) |
It
should be understood that 8th Dan (Hachidan) is
considered to be the terminal or final rank given to most Judoka.
To be promoted to 9th Dan, Kudan, a Judoka must comply
with the criteria noted in the USMA essay, “Criteria for Promotion
to 9th Dan in Judo,” which is available on our USMA
website.
BATSUGUN
OR INSTANTANEOUS PROMOTION.
There is also an important provision in Judo and many other
arts for batsugun “instantaneous promotion.” Usually, batsugun is
given for beating six of one’s own rank in a line-up contest without
stopping. However, the concept of instantaneous promotion is often
modified in many arts to include early promotion for any outstanding
or extraordinary achievement such as winning the World Games or
Olympics in any art.
YUDANSHA
TAIGU.
Note that in Judo, in Japan, and in all Martial Arts in the USMA,
there is a special rank called “Yudansha Taigu.” This rank is given
to leaders in industry, education, government or the Armed Forces
who have made extraordinary contributions to the Martial Arts, but
who have not necessarily training seriously in any art. The Judo
rank of a Yudansha Taigu is the same as the highest rank of any
person attending a meeting where a Yudansha Taigu is present. That
is, if a Yudansha Taigu attends a meeting where the highest rank is
a 9th Dan, then he is a 9th Dan also for the
duration of that meeting.
General
Curtis E. LeMay, first Commander in Chief of the Strategic Air
Command, later Chief of Staff of the USAF, was awarded Yudansha
Taigu status by the Kodokan for his extraordinary support of Judo in
the US Armed Forces. So far, in the first 130 years of Kodokan
history, only two Americans have been Yudansha Taigu. Besides
General LeMay, the other was Professor Doiguchi of California. Both
are now deceased.
CREATION
OF NEW MARTIAL ARTS.
Martial arts are expanding in America and throughout the world. One
of the signs of this growth is the creation of new Martial Arts.
The USMA now has over 1,100 different Martial Arts registered. Many
of these have been created in the past 30 years. Our USMA policy is
to respect and recognize these arts when the Founder of the art
applies for USMA membership. As Founder or “Soke” of the art, the
Founder is free to choose any rank including 10th Dan, as
his or her rank in this new art, providing that he pays the
promotion fee for that rank when registering his system.
When
some people find out that we recognize the rank each Founder gives
himself, they often say “You can’t do that!” My answer is, “Study
your Martial Arts history!” Remember that an upstart 22 year old
college kid in Japan started a new art after only six years of
JuJitsu training. His crazy new “scientific art” was called Kodokan
Judo, and before long, he allowed himself to be promoted to 12th
Dan! That was Jigoro Kano, and he made Judo stick. Or think of the
great contemporary master, Maasaki Hatsumi, who combined seven
styles of Ninjitsu to create Budo Taijutsu. He now has promoted
himself to 20th Dan. Hatsumi Sensei has a bona fide and
highly respected international organization. He has made it stick!
When a person has, through his own study, created what he considers
to be a new system of Martial Arts, we respect his efforts and
register his system and his rank. Remember, “Everybody
knows who can dance!” and sooner or later the truth
will be known.
A NOTE
ON MARTIAL ARTS POLITICS.
Unfortunately, Martial Arts today is full of politics. What is
that? Essentially, it is always having a secret motive for your
actions. The politician always has an ulterior motive for his
actions, seldom or never what he says to the public. Thus, in the
Martial Arts, the politician who has never been in a fight himself,
who has never coached a champion, and who holds high dan rank
without ever having taken an exam, always shouts loudly, demanding
“proof,” and “examinations,” and “rank integrity,” and “high
standards.” These people are control freaks. They want to be able
to tell you when and how you can promote a brown belt in your club,
and also kowtow to them begging for a promotion. They never say
what they mean. They are actually after power, political power over
you and me. Remember the words of Thomas Jefferson: “I
HAVE SWORN ON THE ALTER OF GOD UNENDING HOSTILITY OVER ANY FORM OF
TYRANNY OVER THE MIND OF MAN!” May God help us to keep
our blessed USMA free of Martial Arts politics forever.
WE
SHOULD REMEMBER JUDO PHILOSOPHY.
Dr. Jigoro Kano, the Founder of Kodokan Judo, said that there are
two guiding spiritual principles for Judo. He taught that we can
and should run our lives by these principles. The first principle
is “Seiryoku Zenyo,” which means “Maximum efficiency,” or “Best use
of energy.” The second principle is “Jita Kyoei,” meaning “Mutual
benefit and welfare.” Jita kyoei is also sometimes beautifully
translated as “You and me,
SHINING TOGETHER.”
The
Martial Arts politicians hate the very idea of “Jita Kyoei.” They
despise those of us who believe that we can live and let live, be
fair, and shine together. They don’t want to live together, the
want to CONTROL OTHERS. Their aim is always to restrict. As an
example, note how contest Judo has become more and more restricted
in recent years. Now, I understand, it is a violation to touch the
other player’s legs. No more kata guruma,, morote gari, kibisu
gaeshi or kuchiki taoshi! Far from wanting everyone to prosper,
they want to dictate to and command and control you and me.
The
result is that Judo is dying and Mixed Martial Arts is bursting at
the seams. In my city, Sacramento, California, there are 44 Mixed
Martial Arts clubs for every Judo club! Let’s never forget the
words of Patrick Henry: “GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!”
You are
always in my heart,
O-Sensei
Phil Porter
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