I can only think of one person I know who managed to make 1 dan in a year, and he credits a lot of it to getting mono and being bedridden for a month doing nothing but playing go.

Unsurprisingly, the number of people whom I've heard claim they would be able to make 1 dan in a year is significantly higher. This doesn't mean it's not a good stretch goal, though.

I made Kendo shodan in six months, when I was seventeen, living in Japan and training six nights a week after school.

I am now 39, and in my first year of playing Go I only made it as far as 10 kyu. Admittedly this was without the singlemindedness and youthful physical resilience that adults have to give up on, but I have definitely been giving it a lot of attention.

Go is hard.

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Confucius in the Analects says "even playing go is better than eating chips in front of tv all day." -- kivi

5k in a year with mediocre effort.

Jürgen Mattern needed 6 months to German 1 dan. 8 times European Champion.

I hit the kgs mid-dan levels just about 2 years after I started. This isn't just brag, this is something I honestly believe that anyone with the time and will is capable of doing. (Will is an odd metric though, since I think it varies as a function of progress so far. The faster you move up, the more likely you are to keep at studying and playing)

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Tactics yes, Tact no...

I wish you the best of luck on your go journey. You may not reach the destination you set for yourself but make sure you enjoy the way and it will be worth every minute of it.

Also with the Kendo, you probably had some of the best trainers in the world to? It also is a bit diffrent in how you learn physical patterns vs mental patterns.

(Yes I trained Kendo for a year, no I did not grade and was not able to wear armour because my size was to hard to get hold off apperently)