I think grades must be awarded not only because of skill but comon sense, respect, etc,etc, and all these things are not in a 18 years old boy or girl.
Nor are they present in many adults who do have the rank. Most people are lacking in these areas, regardless of age, and for a variety of reasons.
While I respect the position that a fourth dan should be older, the things said in support of that don't hold up under scrutiny.
Common sense is so uncommon amongst adults of all ages that it should cease being called common.
Respect is so lacking amongst adults of all ages that you'd think many have never made it out of high school. Go to any sporting event, turn on the television, or even read some of the insane posts on martial arts forums if you wish to see examples of this. I still remember an adult member of MT boasting about how he and his fellow student bullied new students who wore white tops with black bottoms.
And what about that dojo owner who supervised the beating and possible killing of a mentally challenged man at his dojo? Or the shady and dishonest methods used by adult school owners to turn a profit.
Clearly, age is not the issue.
But I will argue the merits of your position:
I have known many eighteen year olds who do have common sense and respect, often more than what their adult peers in the class demonstrate.
What many eighteen year olds lack is the level of maturity and seasoning needed to step into a teaching grade, which a fourth dan traditionally is in Korean arts.
By eighteen years of age, a young man or woman is still figuring out who they are and where they fit into the world. They may have common sense and have a respectful manner, but there are also many social elements that they have yet to master, elements that will come to the fore if they are placed into a professorial position.
Also, eighteen year olds tend to be very confident in their opinions in a naïve way, which leads them (even sensible and respectful ones) to hold positions and to say things that they haven't fully thought through. Eighteen year olds are at the same time very passionate about their beliefs and positions, which can lead them into verbal conflict with others, particularly if they feel that their position is being attacked on the basis of their age rather than on its own merit.
Because of this, eighteen year olds tend to have very cut and dry ways of looking at things, often missing the subtleties and social cues that an older adult might pick up on.
Incidentally, this dynamic tends to last well into the twenties, and with males, frequently into their mid to late twenties, ages where many of us would be comfortable promoting a candidate to fourth degree.
Unruly adults (and there are many) will often challenge their instructors, and few eighteen year olds have the experience to deal with challenges from older subordinates.
Also, most eighteen year olds are getting ready to go off to college, which means in all likelihood that their presence at the dojang will be minimal or non existent.
Those are the reasons that I would be hesitant to promote a student of only eighteen years to fourth dan.
Personally, I feel that an eighteen year old can make a good fourth dan. But, like fourth dans of any age, those qualities need to be cultivated in the first, second, and third degrees. As I said, fourth dan is traditionally a teaching grade in Korean arts, and teaching is a skill that needs to be developed, and simply learning the technical requirements won't do that.
Edit: The time commitments placed on a high school student often make developing a good fourth dan very challenging, and that process would need to begin in middle school or earlier, when students usually have even more homework and less maturity.
Having said all that , a well developed eighteen year old fourth dan would be a good fit for young teen and tween classes, where students will look up to them and be less likely to challenge them for position. Also, an eighteen year old relate to those young teens and tweens, having been their age in his/her own recent memory.
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