Desperate man's grading in Oriental sport (3)
I believe the answer is:
dan
I believe this clue is a double definition.
'desperate man's' is the first definition.
(as in Desperate Dan comics)
'grading in oriental sport' is the second definition.
(martial arts grade)
(Other definitions for dan that I've seen before include "Grade level in judo" , "Proficient combative sportsman" , "Jacob's fourth son" , "The 19's first archer" , "Karate expert" .)