Hello everyone. Thank you for reading this article. I’m Shogo, the manager of this website and the interpreter/instructor at Yushikan Kyoto’s Samurai Training Activity/Yushin Ryu Online Lessons.
We are pleased to announce that we have decided to establish a Dan ranking system exclusively for online lessons officially. This is a different Dan ranking system for offline students attending the Kyoto dojo. The reason why this was necessary is because online lessons only allow for one person’s training. In the original test, there is also a Kenjutsu test where you are paired with someone else. However, since Kenjutsu training is not available in online lessons, we concluded that we had no choice but to establish a separate Dan system.
There is a maximum online Dan level of 5-dan. Possessing a fifth dan means memorizing and demonstrating all of the nearly 100 kata in Yushinryu. For each dan rank earned, an official certificate and bracelet signifying the holder of the dan will be sent to the student. The first dan promotion examination will be held online in March 2025. You must have been training for at least one year to take the First dan examination, so we encourage you to challenge yourself by enrolling in our online lessons now.
- 1st Dan: Three Iai Kata of your choice (including Zau Kata)
- 2nd Dan: Five Iai Kata of your choice (including Zau, Kodachi, and Chūden Zagi or Tachi Waza Kata)
- 3rd Dan: Five Iai Kata of your choice (including Zau, Kodachi, Chūden Zagi, and Tachi Waza [Tachi] Kata)
- 4th Dan: Five designated Iai Kata (including Zau, Kodachi, Chūden Zagi, Tachi Waza [Tachi], and Nitō Kata) *The Kata will be notified one week before the exam
- 5th Dan: Five designated Iai Kata (Randomly from all the Kata) *The Kata will be notified on the day of the exam
If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us.
