Shinsa (Promotional Exam) Resources

Here are resources on promotional grading in kendo referred to as shinsa (審査) and organized as follows:

• Shinsa Requirements / Criteria
• Articles
• Guides
• Books
• Preparation and Planning
• Personal Experiences
• Videos (Online, Shinsa‘s, DVD)
• Quotes on Shinsa (in the section “Shinsa” of “Kendo-related Quotes.”)

Some notes.  As usual, this set of resources will likely grow as I discover new resources.  For those familiar with Japanese, there are some articles in Japanese listed in the section: “審査 (Shinsa)” in “External – Japanese Articles and Sites on Kendo.”

Best wishes on your journey and your shinsa!

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Shinsa Requirements / Criteria

• International Kendo Federation’s “Standard Guideline for Dan/Kyu Examination,” May 24, 2012 (PDF, 5 pages).
• SCKF Examiner Criteria
• Australian Kendo Remnai (AKR) Grading Requirements (PDF, 5 pages) – Starting from  page 5 for 6th kyu to 5th dan.

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Articles

• Geoff Salmon sensei has written a large number of articles tagged with “grading” and “shinsa” on KendoInfo.net including this subset of them:
  • “More grading exam tips,” KendoInfo.net, Oct 2016.
  • “Reigi in kendo grading examinations,” KendoInfo.net, Feb. 2010.
  • “Shodan shinsa,” KendoInfo.net, Feb 2009.
  • “4th and 5th dan grading examinations,” KendoInfo.net, Feb. 9, 2010.
  • “Grading examinatios for older kendoka,” KendoInfo.net, Feb 2013.
  • “Grading examinations – a judges view,” KendoInfo.net, Feb. 2010.
• George McCall, “Shinsa – things to think about” (“translation of three very short pieces by Sakuma Saburo hanshi on the subject of gradings”), Kenshi 24/7, 2014.
• Alaska Kendo, “My Personal View on Kendo Shinsa,” Kendo in Alaska, 2015. (Editor’s note:  Has many good tips.)
• A list of KendoNotes articles on Shinsa.

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Guides

• General guides:
  • AUSKF Kendo Promotional Exam Study Guide.
    • The same material can also be found here at kendo-usa.org.
  • Southern California Kendo Federation (SCKF) “Guidelines for Promotion.”
  • “The 2016 Shudokai Grading Gasshuku,” – Report and Translation by Michael Ishimatsu-Prime.
• For specific levels:
  • In the Pursuit of Kendo – A Guide to the requirements for passing grades up to and including 5th DAN, compiled and translated by Jeff Humm, 7th Dan Renshi (PDF, 19 pages)
  • Criteria for Examining Kendo Dan (剣道段位審査基準), (PDF, 5 pages) (In English and in Japanese for 1st to 7th Dan).

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Books

• Shigematsu Kimiaki, The Kendo Mind:  A Guide to Grading Successfully, Bunkasha, 2016.

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Preparation and Planning

• Geoff Salmon
  • “Preparing for grading examinations,” KendoInfo.net, Feb. 2012.
  • “Training for grading examinations,” KendoInfo.net, July, 2008.
• Thomas Sluyter, “Preparing for shinsa,” Renshinjuku, 2012.
• “Shinsa Preparation – a List of Things to Work on and Keep in Mind,” KendoNotes.com, Sept. 22, 2017.

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Personal Experiences

• Kodansha Grading
  • “Reflections on My First Kodansha Grading,” Shugo-Nanseikan.com, Jan. 2017.
  • Boris Jansen, “Embrace the Failing”, Kendo-World.com, v7.2, 2014 (6th Dan shinsa experience). (No longer available)
• 8 Dan:
  • Yano Nobuhiro “My route to hachidan 八段への道筋,” (translated by George McCall), Jan 11, 2018, Kenshi247.net. (includes excellent tips)
  • “Interview with Yukuo Iwao sensei on Passing 8th Dan,” (translated by Kazuyo Matsuda), Kendojidai 3.2010.

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Videos (Online, Shinsa‘s, DVDs)

• Online Videos:
  • “Interview with Alex Bennett Full Version for Everyone” by Hiro Imafuji Sensei, Dec. 14, 2015 (32:02 mins). after Bennett Sensei passed his 7^th Dan Shinsa.
  • [Paul Shin, “Kendo 1 Kyu and 1 Dan Exams:  Key Judging Points,” July 4, 2015 (5:31mins).  His comments start at 2:06 after preliminary comments (which are also helpful).
• Shinsa Videos
  • “Compilation of Shinsa Videos Identifying Those Who Passed,” KendoNotes.com, May 1, 2018.
• DVDs
  • I highly recommend studying these DVDs:
    • [Koda_ShinsaDVD] Koda Kunihide (Kyoshi 8 dan), “Kendo Promotion Shinsa – Program” (剣道昇段審査・対策プログラム【教士八段 香田郡秀監修】) (in Japanese with no subtitles)
    • [Shinsa4/5Dan_DVD] 剣道模擬審査 四・五段編 (DVD) (剣道日本) (Kendo Mock Shinsa for 4th and 5th Dan – in Japanese with no subtitles).

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Quotes on Shinsa

• The quotes can be found in the section “Shinsa” of “Kendo-related Quotes.”

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Keywords:  Grading, Examination, Test