By Jokokan Honbu

At Shindenkan, we place great emphasis on having the best learning forum, including atmosphere.

In Yakami Shinsei-ryu, we strongly believe in people's unrealized potentials and that these can be redeemed for the constructive benefit of the member for the rest of his life. We also place great emphasis on credibility, trust and experience when members step into the role of a possible instructor function.

We therefore have a requirement that all potential instructors in Shindenkan must have experience, knowledge and learning about all aspects of martial arts and later martial arts. This means basic physiology and physical structure, as well as basic psychology, pedagogy and mental development.

Many members have a dream and a goal of graduating to black belt when they begin Shindenkan. It is very understandable, but in Shindenkan it takes approx. twice as long to earn a black belt and progress in Yakami Shinsei-ryu, and no honorary degrees are awarded unless this is expressly written on the graduation certificate.

A 1st dan, black belt in our colleagues' martial arts systems is well trained in Karate-do, or e.g. in Jujutsu, Judo, Aikido, Kendo, Iaido, Kungfu, Taekwondo, Tai-chi or other.

A 1st dan, black belt in Yakami Shinsei-ryu is trained primarily in Karate-do, but also has a solid basic and trained knowledge of; Kenjutsu (sword), Kotachi-jutsu (knife), Jo-jutsu (staff), Jujutsu (fall technique, throw and floor fight), Meditation (inner balance & strength), Shiatsu (Health & wellness), Tai-chi (Chinese meditation in movement), Hsingi (Chinese karate), freestyle (distance & melee), and instructor trained.

Yakami Shinsei-ryu Karate-do constitutes the primary training, but with included Honbu competency course packages and competency building periods followed by ongoing local maintenance as well as Honbu inspiration and curriculum courses.

This means that a 1st dan, black belt in Shindenkan is a reasonably well trained instructor who has a good understanding and respect for other martial arts systems and their skills. But this also means that a Shindenkan instructor has to go through a considerably larger syllabus than our colleagues from other organisations, and which therefore correspondingly takes longer to learn and pass. This is of course also the main reason why it basically takes twice as long to become a black belt in the Shindenkan organization than in other organizations.

It should be mentioned, however, that some of the above-mentioned organizations also have built-in elements of some of what a Shindenkan instructor must go through. There is of course a connection between pensa, time and degree. Simplified and based only on the time aspect, a 2nd - 3rd dan in other karate systems corresponds to a 1st dan in Yakami Shinsei-ryu Karate-do, which, by the way, is all black belts from other martial arts systems who have or are currently training in Shindenkan has confirmed.

Brown and black belt graduations also include the "Shindenkan Task Fighting system", where students must go through a mandatory freestyle part in five parts under a safer environment and semi-contact, and a voluntary freestyle part with full protective equipment and full contact, but still under as safe an environment as possible .

The purpose of this freestyle match is to test one's own techniques and psychological reactions, so that realism and learning can take place on a good, but still on a safe and secure level and with a greater understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the various trained techniques.

It is therefore clear that good physical fitness is a requirement. This is both for safety and security, but also that the member has shown to himself that he has the will and discipline to train for this test in an often busy and hectic everyday life. A build-up and test course, which for many will be pushing boundaries for a positive impact on the member's life and development going forward. This according to one of Shindenkan's mottos "You can do much more than you and others tell you".

There were 21 students for Kenjutsu Package 1 and 25 students for Kenjutsu Package 2, who were up for competency graduation. All passed, prompting Champagne from Kimu Sensei afterwards.