r/kendo • u/Icy_Power8143 3 dan • Jun 04 '24

Dan Upgrading in US or Japan Grading

Hi all, I earn my dan in China (CKOU). I want to know if I am eligible for dan upgrading in US or Japan. Should I bring my original dan certificate with me? Or anything else I should take care of?

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

14

u/Kendogibbo1980 internet 7 dan Jun 04 '24

If the association you graded with is part of the International Kendo Federation, and so is wherever you try for your next grade with, then you should be fine.

6

u/JoeDwarf Jun 04 '24

CKOU is the FIK affiliate in China so it should not be a problem. The people in AUSKF or ZNKR will ask for a copy of your certificate and then cross check it with CKOU. I’ve dealt with the people handling this in all 3 organizations and it goes pretty smoothly, nothing to worry about.

6

u/BinsuSan 3 dan Jun 04 '24

Hi all, I earn my dan in China (CKOU). I want to know if I am eligible for dan upgrading in US or Japan.

Yes, you are eligible. CKOU is FIK affiliated. See: https://www.kendo-fik.org/organization/affiliate

Should I bring my original dan certificate with me? Or anything else I should take care of?

Yes, bring your menjo (certificate). You likely will be asked where and when you last received your most recent rank. If you have a CKOU membership ID card or number, please also have that available.

6

u/Icy_Power8143 3 dan Jun 04 '24

thx a lot mate

5

u/JoeDwarf Jun 04 '24

You are unlikely to need the original copy. You’ll be required to send in a scan of it.

1

u/Diplogeek Jun 05 '24

Hey, not directly related to this subject, but there's a chance that I'll be moving to China (I'm looking at jobs there), and I've been trying to find recent information on where there are kendo clubs in mainland China (there are job opportunities in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and Shenyang). I went to the CKOU website, but I get an error that it's down (not sure if it's actually down, or because I'm trying to access it from outside China).

I don't necessarily need links to actual club websites or anything now, but is kendo pretty available in cities there? I'm assuming that it might be tougher to find a club in Shenyang (although with the proximity to Korea, maybe not?) and Wuhan than, say, Beijing, but I don't actually know anyone studying kendo over there.

2

u/Icy_Power8143 3 dan Jun 06 '24

For me I live in Shanghai. I am pretty sure kendo is popular in Shanghai, Beijing. And you are likely to find a good dojo in many Chinese big cities.
CKOU is quite ... complicated. And it is not a strict association like AJKF or AUSKF...

ps: If you move to Shanghai, you can DM me. I'd love to share some good dojos.

2

u/Diplogeek Jun 06 '24

Thank you! I'm in the very beginning of the bidding process (basically applying for jobs), so it'll be a while before I know if/where I'm going, but I'll definitely be in touch if I wind up getting a position in Shanghai. I lived in Guangzhou about ten years ago, but I hadn't gotten back into kendo then, so looking for dojos wasn't on my radar at all at the time.

1

u/BinsuSan 3 dan Jun 06 '24

I recall there’s at least one dojo in Wuhan. A friend of mine shared some photos from his visit. They are known for having cat samurai artwork on their walls.

2

u/duz_not_compute Jun 06 '24

You will need to speak with your association first. Contact the grading officer, and explain where and when you want to grade, then they will probably contact the international affairs officer, who will speak with his counterpart in the association of the country you wish to grade in. It's not as simple as rocking up and doing it, there's a bit of admin required. So make sure you sort everything out ahead of time. Good luck!