[Rounteetepehryn]

Hi all!

I´d like to start by this question: How many years of Kendo practice is "normal" to get to sho-dan?
The reason I´m asking is that looking back at many years of kendo practice, I find that progress has been getting slower and slower. There are some reasons for this, for periods I have been unable to practice properly etc. Recently I failed sho-dan grading for the second time. Not by much, but still it was failure.
My sensei - which I respect very much - keep telling me that a) the time it takes is different for everyone and that it may take as long as it does for me and b) do not compare yourself to other people´s progress. This is probably true, but if I´m this far from having any natural talent, I´m considering switching to another sport.

Any thoughts?

-Yorick