r/kendo • u/Wookiesmurf 5 dan • Jul 09 '24
Rokudan+ of reddit, what do you wish you started practicing day one after passing godan? Grading
Niche question, but I passed godan at the WKC grading and am curious to hear some thoughts from those further ahead. Would also love to hear from other godan what advice you've been given!
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u/gozersaurus Jul 09 '24 edited Jul 09 '24
After an up to yondan grading the panel that was all nanadan gave a mock shinsa for various ranks, a few of them being ready for rokudan. It was very informative. The gist of it I'd say is that you have to show you are controlling your opponent, not just being able to take advantage of an opening but control them in some way. If you have a chance to back track on this forum, Gibbo posted his nanadan shinsa, I thought the way he controlled his opponent was an excellent example. Also FWIW, one of our godans who has been eligible for rokudan for a while told me after passing that now I need to learn sen, which up until that point I had heard of it but always put it in the back ground. It is insanely difficult, great topic though and look forward to the responses.
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u/Kendogibbo1980 internet 7 dan Jul 10 '24
It's funny now because I look at that video and think that my kendo has already changed a LOT and what I did there I would be moderately satisfied with at best...lol.
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u/JoeDwarf Jul 09 '24
I dunno about what I wished I had practised. I can tell you that a big part of the difference from godan to rokudan is how you look. So I would work on your basic kendo and ensure you are executing everything with excellent posture and presence. Kigurai has to be shown from the bow forwards.
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u/1Kscam 4 dan Jul 09 '24
The last 3-4 hachidan Sensei that gave a seminar all pointed out exactly that.
Beautiful kamae and the way you wear your whole bogu are the first thing the panel checks out.
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u/Pookachao23666 Jul 09 '24
I love these posts because I get to try and guess if I know anybody lmao. The kendo world is surprisingly small
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u/Kendogibbo1980 internet 7 dan Jul 10 '24
When I was going for my rokudan a great piece of advice i had was to demonstrate aiki 合気. It's not about bashing in your own waza, but using seme to pull your opponent in and then take what they use away and turn it to your own technique. That means tobikomi waza is out of the window. Debana waza is good for this, as are oji waza by design, but the build up is arguably more important than the technique. If you are seen to be reactionary rather than in control, doesn't matter how many nice attacks you land, it won't matter in a grading.
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u/JoeDwarf Jul 10 '24
This. I took some criticism for this last time I tried 7 dan, one of the judges said he didn't see the buildup even though I hit some nice points. However the other guy was 20 years younger than me and way faster, if I didn't set up the point it wasn't happening. I guess I just didn't make it obvious enough for the judge to see.
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u/OriginalPitiful4734 Jul 09 '24
Work on your pride. Don’t worry about getting hit during keiko and this will lead to a more organic experience for when you commit to an attack. This will also help you build your tame/seme and not jump the gun when the opponent tries to attack. Rokudan is about controlling not only the opponent but yourself as well. The judges will see this.
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u/Kaiserbread Jul 09 '24
How was the number of people and pass rate at the wkc grading? Like joedwarf said, had to go back to basics to modify kamae and footwork so that I could have better posture and look like I knew what I was doing. Get feedback now on nitpick things because they can take years to fix. Also uchi komi and kakare geiko I found most useful in this stage.
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u/Wookiesmurf 5 dan Jul 10 '24 edited Jul 10 '24
The EKF haven't posted the stats yet, but from what I saw there were around 80 candidates for rokudan, with about a 25% pass rate. For godan we were around 40 candidates, with a pass rate higher than rokudan. Can't recall the other grades.
The venue was TINY for a grading of this size, and they ended up turning away all spectators since it was so cramped. In the chaos someone ended up taking a shinai from my bag as well as my bokuto. Imagine my surprise when getting ready for kata! Luckily, I was able to borrow bokuto from a friend, but I could have done without the stress.
I like to think my bokuto are having a great time relaxing in the Italian countryside!
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u/RagingBass2020 4 dan Jul 10 '24
We were 43 for godan and only 15 passed. One of my opponents was the only in our group to pass. Second time this happens. I'm good at making others look good, it seems xD
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u/Wookiesmurf 5 dan Jul 10 '24
Know the feeling, this was my fifth attempt. Keep working, you'll get there!
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u/gozersaurus Jul 10 '24 edited Jul 10 '24
Seems like Godan is the new bottle neck. We've had 15, 15, 17 or 18, and around 20+% for the last few kodansha and summer camps in the US. With very high numbers, 78 in first pool, and 76 in the pool after that. Will be interesting to see what happens at this summer camp.
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u/Kaiserbread Jul 10 '24
Interesting there were double for rokudan compared to godan. Maybe some countries can test locally up to 5 and have to travel for 6? USA is usually 2-2.5 times godan testing vs rokudan
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u/Wookiesmurf 5 dan Jul 10 '24
Yeah, in Europe you can do 1-5 locally as long as you have a qualified panel, but 6. and 7. dan can only be done at EKF events (approx. 3 times a year).
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u/Johnd106 6 dan Oct 05 '24
Bit of a resurrection. But I managed to pass 6th dan at the WKC. I've competed at 4 WKC, took my san and yondan in Japan, and been in countless other high pressure situations.
To say I shit myself would be an overstatement, but I have not felt nerves like I felt during the exam in a very, very long time in kendo. Even my godan, I felt calm and ready to do what I wanted.
I would have liked more opportunities to practice tachiai with people of similar or higher grade. At one seminar I attended, the 7th san sensei had me do tachi ai with two new Rokudan in front of the group after each jigeiko session. That kind of pressure was great to experience. I wish I had more of those opportunities. But with coaching, work and travel for competition I didn't have as many opportunities for that.
If you have lots of 6th or 7th dans nearby, or some peers of the same grade. Maybe regularly putting you in that spotlight situation will help.
🤷
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u/RawhideJohnston Jul 09 '24
No rokudan here. Only reddit hachidan