How important is rank?
Rank is not important. To clarify: in the Bujinkan, many teachers give rank for different reasons, and two students at a similar skill level may not have the same rank. Therefore, the rank may be very meaningful to an individual student, but it is not important in any sense other than as a tool to further that student’s growth. Sometimes students are given rank to challenge them to train harder, in order to live up to the rank they are given. Rank may be withheld to challenge a student’s resolve, or as a lesson in ego-management. Similarly, an inflated rank may be given to a student in order to develop their ability to remain humble. The bottom line is that rank is only meaningful in the context of the individual student’s training, and the intentions of the teacher who gave it. Rank is unrelated to other students’ abilities or progress, and it is generally useless to make comparisons from one student to another.
