The Duan system

I am always amazed with the criteria used by some organizations to distribute (!) their Duans. A “Duan” is a unit that serves to measure one’s ability in a certain marital art, much like the Japanese “Dan”- it goes from 1 to 10. As I see it the system doesn’t certify that a person is martially skilled (able to fight) and many that have received it are not, as I understand, examples of accomplished fighters. Bottom line is that when it comes to Xingyiquan, it was created to be a fighting system, a self defense tool, and unless one has fighting skill, having whatever Duan one might have won’t mean a thing. In my understanding having a high Duan in a martial art and not being able to fight is most undesirable, both for the organization issuing the Duan and for the one receiving it.

I am happy with my zero Duan.