PROMOTION, CERTIFICATION & DAN GRADE REGISTRATION

PROMOTION AND RANK REGISTRATION

Birankai North America follows a structured process for evaluating and recognizing member proficiency through promotion examinations, award of kyu and dan ranks and recognition of instructor certifications.

Kyu Rank Promotion:

A student is generally evaluated for kyu rank promotion at his or her home dojo by means of an examination conducted by the chief instructor of the dojo. Following award of a Kyu rank, the chief instructor should record the promotion on the online BNA dojo roster, as soon as possible.

While there is no fee payment required to register a kyu rank, on being awarded the rank of 5th kyu, a student should become registered as a member of Birankai North America (if they have not already done so) and acquire a Birankai passport (record of promotion and seminar attendance) from their dojo.

Dan Rank Promotion:

Dan rank promotion tests are conducted by a certified Birankai North America instructor or an examination committee comprised of certified BNA instructors authorized to evaluate the candidate for the promotion under consideration.

BNA dan grade promotions must be registered with Aikikai Hombu Dojo. Upon promotion of a student to a BNA dan grade, the BNA instructor must register the student’s rank with Hombu; this will automatically register it with BNA. The registration materials (signed applications and fees) should be submitted to the BNA Registrar within 90 days of the promotion date. Regardless of when these materials are submitted, the date of promotion in BNA records will be the date upon which the promotion is recognized by Aikikai Hombu Dojo. It is at the chief instructor’s discretion whether to have a BNA dan certificate in addition to a Hombu certificate. It is not mandatory, but will be provided to the chief instructor at little to no cost when the Hombu registration materials are completed.

- For application forms and information on procedures for registration of dan grade with Birankai North America and Aikikai Hombu Dojo, please see the REGISTRATION OF DAN GRADE PROMOTIONS section, below.

- (Note: For individuals applying to join Birankai North America, the organization recognizes dan grades issued by Aikikai Hombu Dojo.)

- Read this excerpt from a 1997 article on promotion, written by T. K. Chiba Sensei.

REGISTRATION OF DAN GRADE PROMOTIONS

Congratulations on your Dan promotion!

In this section, you will find links for payment, applications, and instructions for registering your Dan grade with Birankai North America and Aikikai Foundation – Hombu Dojo.

To register Dan 5-6 promotions with Hombu Dojo, please contact the Birankai Registrar at registrar@birankai.org.

INSTRUCTIONS

Once promoted by teacher, fill out Dan application forms.
See links below for application forms in PDF format.

To register with Birankai North America, there is one application for all grades.
To register with Hombu Dojo, there are three forms required for Dan 1 grade. There is one form required for Dan grades 2–4.
Dan grades 5–6 please contact registrar directly.
Pay your registration fees. See link at bottom of this page.
Please pay the $100 BNA Processing fee that is required for all Dan rank promotions.

If you have any questions, please contact the Birankai Registrar at registrar@birankai.org

BNA REGISTRATION

BIRANKAI NORTH AMERICA APPLICATION

(any rank)

HOMBU REGISTRATION

ENROLLMENT APPLICATION

(Dan 1 only)

DAN GRADE APPLICATION

(Dan 1–4)

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS

(Dan 1–4)

HOMBU YUDANSHA BOOKS

NEW YUDANSHA BOOK APPLICATION

(Dan 1)

REPLACEMENT YUDANSHA BOOK APPLICATION

(Any Dan rank)

DAN REGISTRATION FEES

Links below allow payment via Paypal, Venmo, or credit card and are not dependent on the user having a Paypal account.

*Required for the processing of any Dan rank change.

Hombu Dojo Certificate fees reflect BNA cost, based on the current yen-to-dollar exchange rate.
If there is a shift in the fees due to the exchange rate, you will be notified by the registrar.