Grading Introduction

Scruton Karate Club offers an approved curriculum so you can grade for belts with our club. You will need to buy your annual licence after 4 to 6 weeks of training. A licence gives a small amount of insurance and enables you to grade for belts. It is valid for one year.

What Is A Grade?

A grade is a measure of the level of attainment of a Karate student. Each grade is signified by a different coloured belt, starting with the White belt and progressing to Black. Below the black belt, grades are referred to as Kyu. Black belts are called Dans.

Wearing a black belt is a great privilege, and carries a deal of responsibility. Fewer than 1 in 10000 people ever try their hand at a martial art. For every 1000 people who do begin Karate, fewer than 50 will achieve a Dan grade. Most will drop out before they achieve 3rd Kyu. Above this point the 'drop-out' rate is somewhat smaller, but still less than half those who achieve 3rd Kyu will eventually reach black belt.

What Is A Grading?

Gradings are where students get the opportunity to show to the Chief Instructor and other Dan grades how they have progressed since their previous grading. Equally, gradings are where Club Instructors are also assessed, to see how well they have taught their students! So, while it is natural for students to feel a little apprehensive, they should take comfort in the knowledge that their instructors are feeling just the same!

Gradings are held once every 4 months.

Am I Ready To Grade?

All students, should be guided by the advice of Sensei. Remember that Sensei has already gone through all the gradings ahead of you, so has a wealth of experience in this area!

If you are determined to attend a grading, regardless of what Sensei recommends, no-one will prevent you. But bear in mind that ignoring Sensei's advice can mean the difference between a good grading and poor one.

The minimum amount time between moving from one grade to the next, up until brown & two black stripes ( 2nd Kyu), is 4 months. A further minimum of 6 months must go by before reaching Brown & three black stripes (1st Kyu). Another 6 months must pass before a student becomes eligible to grade for the Black belt.

So, in summary, students should remember the following:

The time between gradings is a minimum - many students take longer to prepare for a grading.

No student is expected to grade every time - students are not expected to progress faster than they feel is comfortable.

No student should expect to grade every time - follow the advice of your Sensei.

What Happens At a Grading?

Gradings begin with registration. Next, all students gather for a quick warm-up, don't worry about it - the warm-up will follow the familiar routine that you observe in your Dojo. After the warm-up, a training session begins usually lasting about 1 to 2 hour's tuition. Finally there's a short recess, and then the grading itself begins.

You are asked to demonstrate skills, in front of the grading panel, in three areas:

Kihon (basics and combinations) is just that. Remember all the punching and blocking you've done, up and down the Dojo floor, over and over again? That's all there is to it. You will be asked to perform different techniques (for example, downward block, stepping punch, upper-rising block) a number of times in front of the examiner.

Kumite (sparring) is where you show your ability to perform formal attacks and defences against an opponent. Once again, you've done this many times in the Dojo, paired up with a partner. Note that beginners (white belts) do not have any Kumite drills to perform.

Kata (form). Here you demonstrate the Kata you've been practicing. For your very first grading this is Kihon Kata

And that's all there is to it! Afterwards you are presented with a certificate of achievement usually from the senior or chief examiner, and awarded the right to wear the next belt, and then it's time to relax and enjoy the feeling you get from having completed a grading.

Don't Be Nervous!

The main ingredient to a successful grading is always going to be SPIRIT. The student who finds it desperately difficult to perform a turn in Kihon Kata for instance, but who tries hard all the time, and does their best, will have a good grading - even if they get it wrong on the day. Effort is the most important aspect!

For further information on each Grade, please see the links on the left hand panel.

NB The Grading Syllabus is currently under review. If in doubt please check on a club training night.

A further interesting view on grading from a website, which encapsulates what grading is and what you need to do. The link is here.

Some additional comments are on the bottom of the article which are interesting as well, but here is the main body:

"There was a grading, aka a belt test, at the Ye Old MUN Dojo tonight. Two yellows, two oranges and two greens. A very even mixture that yielded very mixed results. It was an interesting experience for this Humble Chronicler, as the last grading I attended was my own from brown to shodan (first-degree black). That lasted at least three hours, at the end of a full-day seminar. There were over a dozen candidates and only four of us passed.

This grading lasted an hour, but was no less intense for its participants. Observing, a number of thoughts crept into my tiny reptilian brain and so, with only a little further ado, are some tips that might come in handy for any of my Illustrious Readers facing a test in karate, or any martial art, for that matter.

Disclaimer - these are coming from a karateka whose black belt is red-tinged from the rust that's being scraped off. In no particular order:

In the weeks leading up to the grading, concentrate your training on the basic techniques you need and the basic movements. Punches, kicks, blocks. Practice your stances in elevators. Crescent-step your way across your bedroom. If your basics are good, you've got a solid foundation from which to throw that fantabulous backwards spinning thrust kick.

Practice your kata too. Practice it some more. Repeat. With your eyes closed. Go fast. Go slow. Do it once for timing, once for power and once for form, then once for all three. Do it again.

At the grading itself, pace yourself. Don't go flat-out in the first few minutes because you'll collapse like a wet blanket half-way through. Karate is about power, not strength. Power comes from crisp, focused techniques, concentration and proper body dynamics. Work on those, and power and speed will come naturally and you'll have enough resources in reserve to dig deep for those last few kicks.

Don't rush. For God's sake, don't rush, either kata or basics. A lot of people get nervous and speed up artificially. Let each technique come out in its own time, then move on to the next one. If you have two techniques to do in quick succession, make sure the first one is drop-dead gorgeous. The second one will look after itself. If you rush the first to get to the second, they're both going to stink like three-day-old roadkill.

Kiai. Make them big, loud and fill the room with a scream worthy of a slasher-film victim, except without the terror. All too often, one sees good technique, good kata, accompanied by a tiny little "eep" or "yah" that wouldn't startle a hamster. You should be thinking, "I am Green Belt (or whatever)! Hear me roar!"

Commit yourself. Put your whole heart, spirit and focus into each technique. Whether you're punching air, the makiwara (punching bag) or someone else, if you go at it with the mind only to succeed in that technique, the results will undoubtedly be better than if you're worrying about your form or what the instructor is thinking.

Live in the present. If you screw something up, don't dwell on it, or you'll screw up the next thing you do. Forget it, don't do it again and move on.

An extension of this is peculiar to kata. If you forget the next move, you'll stop dead for a split second. If it doesn't come to you in the next half-second, do something. Anything. A punch, a kick, keep moving. At least in the MUN Dojo, if you do that, the instructors are more likely to give you a second chance to do the kata again. It shows commitment and determination, as opposed to a defeatist, giving-up attitude.

Use the buddy system. When you're sparring, especially in the limited attack/block & counter variety, you both look better if the attacker throws a clean, precise technique, which gives the defender a chance to show off his best block and counter-attack. You're not in a competition with each other and you'll both shine the brighter for helping each other through good-quality technique. For example, make a aim a high punch at the nose. That means the upper block will catch it clean. Aim a middle punch at the solar plexus. Aim it at the upper chest or throat and chances are, the middle block will swipe the air under your arm, you'll have to pull your punch to avoid hitting your partner and you'll both look like idiots, windmilling your arms around when you should be standing like rocks, glaring fiercely into each other's eyes.

And finally - Keep your perspective. There is no penalty for not passing a grading test; it's simply a sign that you need to train a little more. So keep going. Just like a little white-clad Energizer bunny."