30/06/2026
Clarification from Sensei Rick Hotton on the quote we posted.
Our apologies.
We saw this on another page and shared it without checking if he had said it.
Our apologies once again to Sensei Rick, and to our followers for falling below our usual standards 🙏
Sensei Rick Hotton said in the comments.
"Ok, I don't think I ever said this. Although I do often think people get too preoccupied with achieving rank, I don't ever remember saying the quote above. First, this does not sound like how I express an opinion, and not really in my nature to call out another martial art. For me 5th Dan is the last rank - it's just a personal thing. Funakoshi sensei was a 5th Dan and out of respect I cannot pass the founder. But I don't really judge people on their rank, if you are a 10th Dan ok, that's your thing. Maybe a better system would be one dan rank for every 10 years of continuous training. I've been training continuously for fifty six years so my rank is about right. If I make it to 112 then maybe a 10th Dan because, well, it's pretty cool to just live to 112! (probably doing something right). Anyway, Best not to trust everything we see on the internet."
