@Odoritomaki I'm skipping class just to read your notes. And I honestly do not regret it, it was surely better than any politics class I was supposed to attend.
On that note: One time I was traveling through USA and had the opportunity to do a small interview with a Karate teacher. I think he was a 6th dan or something like that, so while
he didn't live in Japan he had to go at least
once or twice a year to report himself to the dojo.
The interesting part comes when I ask for the Dan system and how much time does it take to get to the last rank. He told me that after a certain point, everytime you take the exam they add a year of waiting for the next one. For example, if you are allowed to take the exam in 3 years for getting a certain rank, when you get it the next rank's exam can only be taken in 4 years in that organization.
He also told me there most organizations flat-out add one year for rank acquired since adquiring black-belt. Doing the math, it would mean that it would take
45 years of one's life to get from 1st dan to 10th dan, which explains why
only old people tend to have this rankings.
But our Mika here isn't old enough to get those rankings. What does that mean?
Well, there are two posibilities if you think realistically. The first one is that
she's the master and creator of her own style, granting herself the
highest ranking possible. The other, is that she's precisely a descendant from one of those new style schools and because of that the ranking system is way laxer so they can get as much masters in the style as possible.
Being a 10th dan doesn't really speak in terms of current skill of the practicioner. In traditional styles being a 3rd or 4th Dan is truly the peak on physical ability. The 10th Dan actually is more dependent on representation, perseverance, leadership and study.
Well, sorry for the long comment. I actually didn't say anything about the chapter itself, but it was fun remembering that chat.