That was my point robaikido. My head sensei has been studying for about twenty five years, and he's a yondan-and legitimately so. The teacher that I usually study under is a sandan with a little over ten years experience, but he's very talented. Outside of Japan, I understand that for someone to reach sandan in under ten years is pretty rare. In Japan, of course, a college student will reach sandan by the time that they graduate, but that's a different matter altogether.
Joe