PROPOSED REQUIREMENT OF MASTER’S TITLES
KYOSHI
Two gold stripes on the belt
Minimum rank: NANADAN
Multi-page essay on training habits and philosophy on Uechiryu
KYOSHI meanings
Japanese: cleanse; pure
Thoughts on KYOSHI
Considering the volume that this association is producing, the title of KYOSHI could easily be the biggest source of challenge for us. Considering that KYOSHI is the step between a twenty-year-practitioner and a student heading towards the position of a member of the senior masters council or, simply a high ranking UECHI person that will have influence on not only this association but in the UECHI world. Fortunately for us, it appears that this upcoming test is not going to have that many people vying for this rank. This would be a good time to start this policy and cement it in a statement that would make it easy for many people to understand. Additionally, we could publicize the reason why we gave this person the title of KYOSHI, which would help cement standard.
If RENSHI is predicated on the time training, then KYOSHI would (almost) have to be something completely different. Besides the obvious choice of being a teacher/sensei and, therefore, contributing to the style. That being said, our organization has more other-than-instructor senior students. So, there are many other forms of contributions that would be vital to an organization that’s growing as quickly as ours. These contributions would not necessarily have to be defined at any one particular point, perhaps the best way around getting the title of KYOSHI is simply to leave it to the senior masters council to decide if this person is worthy of it. We could easily come up with a set list of easy criteria that would be standard, but realistically it would have to be done on a person-by-person basis. Through this method, we would start the process of developing a criteria as to what our future KYOSHIs would be.
For this, we could talk about a detailed essay. We have bounced around this idea before. The essay would be detailed, going over philosophy of the martial arts, recommended training rituals and other key areas that the candidate believes is essential to their way of karate. This could be something published in the yearbook and (collectively) in a training manual for junior ranking students. Perhaps this is something that the Senior Master’s Council could help with. Not only could we nail down what we expect from all of our prospective KYOSHI, but we could help with the editing and fine tuning of the piece as well.
Additionally, if this is the direction we are planning on going with the future KYOSHIs of our group, then it would behoove us to all write an essay. This would be a great read for junior students and also help us set up the criteria for future candidates.
HANSHI:
Three gold stripes on the belt
Minimum rank: HACHIDAN or LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Committed member of the Uechiryu Butokukai Senior Master’s Council
HANSHI meanings
Japanese: Example, model
Thoughts on HANSHI
If we are putting as much attention to KYOSHI as stated above, HANSHI can very simple and functional. It can be the people who are one the Senior Master’s Council. The criteria for that can be on a case-by-case basis and a subject of conversation at the meetings. We have talked in the past about a theoretical limit to how far some students could reach and/or a true separation between master’s titles and ranks. We could establish a limit of KYOSHI/NANADAN for those who we don’t think will help with the duties of the Senior Master’s Council and the like. The other way we can think of it is to allow HACHIDAN promotions, but the title of HANSHI (and the three stripes) being reserved to those who are able to contribute to the duties of the Senior Master’s Council and have the time and energy to devote to it.
Additional responsibilities could include sitting on Black Belt testing panel. Perhaps one HANSHI per testing panel would help elevate the group and keep everyone focus on the overall goals of the testing.
HANSHI-SEI:
Four gold stripes on the belt
Minimum rank: KUDAN or LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Committed member of the Uechiryu Butokukai Senior Master’s Council
Committed member of the Master’s Judging Panel
HANSHI-SEI meanings
Japanese: Example, model
Thoughts on HANSHI-SEI
This trend was started at the last master’s testing, and seemed to develop the desired effect. KUDAN/HANSHI-SEI are members of the Senior Master’s Council, just like the HANSHIs, but have the additional responsibility of training and promoting our master ranking candidates.
JUDAN/GRANDMASTER
Minimum Fifty years of practice
Committed head of the Senior Master’s Council
JUDAN/GRANDMASTER meanings
Japanese: Example, model
Thoughts on JUDAN/GRANDMASTER
This is an interesting question-mark, and one that probably won’t be solved any time soon. Traditionally, one living grandmaster was the head of a particular style or organization. Some grandmasters were given the title after they had passed away. In the recent years, JUDAN/GRANDMASTER has been given to people in a similar fashion as KUDAN.
One possible way of visualizing GRANDMASTER is a retired master. A Master with no more responsibilities other than to be a resource of that person’s vast knowledge that has been accumulated over the years. In this scenario, we could look at a minimum age requirement. George Mattson has said seventy-years-old as being the minimum for JUDAN/GRANDMASTER, but – historically – there is nothing to back up an age requirement. Kanei Uechi was awarded two JUDAN titles, one in 1967 (All Japan Karate Federation – Zen-Nihon Karate-Do Renmei) and the other in 1977 (All Okinawan Karate Federation - Zen Okinawa Karate Renmei). He was fifty-five and sixty-five years old, respectively, for these promotions.