Worldwide stastics for Aikido reveal that less than 5% of all Aikido students ever reach the rank of black belt. To show how proud we are of Daniel-san for his recent promotion to black belt, Castle Rock AIKIDO decided to purchase Daniel's personally embroiderd hakama (those large, pleated skirt-like pants) and black belt for him.

Embroidered in gold, one end of Daniel's belt reads "Keiko Shochin," which roughly translates as "training in the old ways brightens the present." The other end reads "Da-ni-eru," which is the Japanese phonetic for "Daniel" in the katakana alphabet. This phrase was personally selected for Daniel by Albright Sensei and Shiraki Sensei and was meant to inspire Daniel's continued growth in Aikido and in life.

The three characters that comprise Daniel's phonetic name have special meaning in and of themselves. 'Da' means "big, huge, or great." 'Ni' represents "benevolence." 'Eru' implies "to receive" or "to gain." Therefore, Daniel's name in Japanese means "to receive or gain great benevolence!"

Castle Rock AIKIDO only purchases the higest quality hakama from the Iwata family in Japan. Albright Sensei says that they are the best-made hakama in the world. (They aren't cheap, either!)

Daniel received his indigo-colored hakama from Albright Sensei and Shiraki Sensei. Castle Rock AIKIDO has decided that all black belts will wear the more traditional... more Japanese... indigo-colored hakama in the Castle Rock dojo. In the United States it is somewhat more common to wear black hakama.