Shodan
/ˈʃoʊ.dɑːn/noun
The first-level black-belt rank in many Japanese martial arts.
Did you know?Shodan is written 初段: 初 means “first” or “beginning,” while 段 means a step, level, or rank—so a first-degree black belt is symbolically the first step of serious training.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Chinese
Chinese
初段 (chūduàn)
“First level or first grade; 初 means “first,” and 段 means “step” or “grade.””
Early Japanese
Japanese
初段 (shodan)
“A first rank or first level, using Sino-Japanese vocabulary and characters.”
19th–20th Century
Japanese
初段 (shodan)
“The first dan rank in systems of graded martial-arts achievement.”
20th Century
English
shodan
“A Japanese martial-arts term adopted into English for the first-degree black-belt rank.”