Judo in the United States however, the lecture had little effect on mainstream judo growth. The first American to actually study judo was Prof. Ladd from Yale University, in 1889. He trained at the Kodokan in Japan for about ten years; by 1908 about 13 Americans were training there. In 1919, Prof. John Dewey of Columbia University came to visit Prof. Ladd and Master Kano, many years later he took his knowledge back to Columbia and began the first U.S. college judo program. While some students were training in Japan there was some action in the U.S. Perhaps one of the most important figures in
Dan (rank) the highest attainable rank. Unlike Judo, all "dan" promotion within the All Japan Kendo Federation, International Kendo Federation and its member countries is by examination. Whereas "dan" grades are awarded for technical ability, there is a parallel "shogo" system awarding the higher teaching grades of "renshi", "kyoshi", and "hanshi". "Renshi" and "kyoshi" are awarded by written examination while "hanshi" by election. Although the "dan" system is distinctly Japanese, it has been adopted by many other martial arts styles. The "dan" system and the well-known symbol of a black belt have been absorbed into common usage to represent a person with