Danjo
Master Black Belt
Like Prof. Joe said above, it gets really sticky when you get into this whole legitimacy issue. THERE ARE NO STANDARDIZED RANKING SYSTEMS IN THE WORLD. Every organization, and often, dojo etc., ranks differently. Joe Lewis, in his day, could beat the snot out of everyone that got into the ring with him. What rank was he? Did someone have to be able to beat him in order to hold the same or greater rank? What about Bill Wallace? Etc. Etc. What standard wold you use to determine rank?bayonet said:I also served my country honorably from 91-94 as an infantryman in the 7th Infantry Division(L), C 2/9 INF. Ft Ord/Ft Lewis, U.S. Army. My DD 214 reads honorable discharge. Is there honor in wearing a rank you did not earn? I don't care if all the AK Senoirs got together and bestowed rank upon me, I still would not wear it. The point is, can you defend yourself as a legitmate 5th or 6th? So don't give this dude Geary a pat on the back because he served in the USMC. Many have served in the armed forces. Chuck Sullivan, Larry Tatum, Steve Sanders, Mick Pick, just to name a few. There is one difference though, these Seniors earned their rank and can back it up.
It's almost like talking about college degrees. We all know that different colleges and universities have different rankings in terms of quality. We all know that different majors have different requirements. But few would say that my degree from Cal State Fullerton is not legitimate simply because it didn't come from Stanford or Harvard. Did I have to work as hard to get mine as someone did from Harvard? No. Would I , with a BA in History be expected to be as good in math as someone who majored in Engineering? No. Yet, it is a legitimate degree. My wife has a Masters from the same school. Is she not a legit "Master" because she didn't get it from Yale? "Well, you might say, "she doesn't reason like the masters that I have seen from Oxford! Therefore she must be illegitimate!"
It can get pretty tedious and pointless after a while.