, literally meaning "beginning degree," is the lowest
black belt rank in
Japanese martial arts
Japanese martial arts refers to the variety of martial arts native to the country of Japan. At least three Japanese terms (''budō'', ''bujutsu'', and ''bugei'') are used interchangeably with the English phrase Japanese martial arts.
The usage ...
[SportsDefinitions.com: Shodan definition (judo)](_blank)
Retrieved on 28 February 2010 and the game of
Go. The 2nd
dan
Dan or DAN may refer to:
People
* Dan (name), including a list of people with the name
** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark
* Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa
**Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...
is higher than ''Shodan'', but the 1st dan is called ''Shodan'' traditionally and not "''Ichidan''". This is because the character 初 (''sho'', alternative pronunciation: ''hatsu'') also means first, new or beginning in
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
.
Also frequently referred to as "first dan", it is a part of the ''
kyū
is a Japanese term used in modern martial arts as well as in tea ceremony, flower arranging, Go, shogi, academic tests and other similar activities to designate various grades, levels or degrees of proficiency or experience. In Mandarin Chin ...
''/''dan'' ranking system common to
modern Japanese martial arts. The term may be used to describe both the rank a person holds, as well as the person (i.e., it is proper to say that a person holds the rank of shodan, and it is also appropriate to say, "I ''am'' a shodan in 'x' martial art").
References
{{reflist, 2
Titles and rank in Japanese martial arts