Martial Arts Testing Question

[cjmnc72]

Is it a common practice to have the student do army crawls around the dojo for rank advancement in a Japanese Jujitsu school? Do you think this is an appropriate challenge? I was shocked when I was asked to do laps around the dojo. I did it, but just wanted to know if this was appropriate?

 

[Grenadier]

Quite a few dojos (in many systems including Karate) use physical conditioning as part of their exams, so it's not entirely unusual at all. As long as they aren't doing it in a way that's damaging to your body, I see nothing wrong with this.

My old school would make all individuals taking the exam do the physical portion first, where you would run a mile (or two, if you were going for 4th kyu or higher), do 500 front kicks, and then 300 crunches, before moving onto the Karate side of the exam. My old teacher's reasoning was quite sound, that it was important to stay in decent shape, that the workout, while intensive, built a great sense of cooperation and teamwork between the students, and probably equally as important, burnt off any nervous energy you may have at the start.

 

[jks9199]

As Grenadier said -- it depends. For color belt tests in my club, we don't generally submit them to an intensive PT test. I care more about their skills... But our black belt test includes a PT test of about a dozen stations. It includes a run, swim, pull-ups, push-ups, rolls, weight (person) carries & lifts, a long, uphill low crawl, and more.

A lap or two of the gym isn't likely to be excessive, in my opinion. A lot of clubs and schools have some form of PT challenge or exercise. The caveat I'll throw in is that it shouldn't be a means to humiliate or embarrass those testing...

 

[sfs982000]

I think it's standard practice schools to have some sort of physical conditioning portion of their promotion exams. Every school I ever studied at tested you physically as part of the promotion exams, some were definitely harder than others.

 

[Takai]

I think that it is pretty common. I wouldn't think twice if asked to this for a test.

 

[CK1980]

I agree with what the others are saying... Physical testing has always been a part of any belt testing I did at any school. Whether it was something as simple as "do 25 push ups" or as extensive as "do 120 kicks in 1 minute". There is a purpose, and if you don't understand the purpose- ask.

 

[arnisador]

I haven't heard of this specific testing requirement but I would agree with others on the general fact about physical conditioning. I had to do jogging of some number of miles--I forget--for a brown belt in karate, for example.

 

[Chris Parker]

Is it a common practice to have the student do army crawls around the dojo for rank advancement in a Japanese Jujitsu school? Do you think this is an appropriate challenge? I was shocked when I was asked to do laps around the dojo. I did it, but just wanted to know if this was appropriate?

Is it common? No. Is it unusual? No. Is it down to the individual dojo/system/teacher? Yep. If you have an issue with it, talk to the instructor. Ask them their reasons for using it.

That said... I don't know of any JAPANESE Jujutsu systems that use such methods for ranking. Then again, I don't know of any JAPANESE "Jujitsu" systems... for the record...what is the actual art you're training in? Which system? If I'm right, it might go a fair way to explaining why the training method is the way it is.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

do army crawls around the dojo ...

Here is a similar exercise. It's not on the chest but on the back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFpeZbCsq4Y&feature=youtu.be

 

[oftheherd1]

I don't know how common it is, but it isn't, or at least wasn't, universal when I was a student. In the Hapkido I studied, it wasn't tested, cut I can assure you there was very challenging physical training going on in the warm up phase. Lots of physical and mental challenges. If you couldn't keep up you might not test as quickly as you wanted.

 

[cjmnc72]

Thank you for all your replies. I knew that doing physical exercises were part of most tests such as jumping jacks, pushups, etc. from past experience in other arts, but was never told to crawl around the dojo as part of a test. One school just had me do the techniques and forms as part of the formality, and one school had me stand on one leg in a crane stance facing the wall while I was not demonstrating during a couple hour brown belt test. Maybe the crawling was simply an endurance challenge or training if I need to escape when I am unable to by foot. Thank you.

 

[DennisBreene]

I don't know how common it is, but it isn't, or at least wasn't, universal when I was a student. In the Hapkido I studied, it wasn't tested, cut I can assure you there was very challenging physical training going on in the warm up phase. Lots of physical and mental challenges. If you couldn't keep up you might not test as quickly as you wanted.

I can relate to this. Classes were long enough that a significant amount of conditioning occurred simply in the warm up phase. Most of us often supplemented this with conditioning outside of class. I don't recall specific conditioning tests as a part of advancement but our master instructor knew us well enough from class to have a sense of our conditioning regardless. And in those days, we were told when we were testing (just as we were told we were competing in a tournament and helping remodel the studio). The subtext being; we were not allowed to test until we were ready. Testing was not a mere formality but it was focused on the techniques we were expected to have mastered, and the test was ours to fail as much as it was ours to pass.

 

[Chris Parker]

Is it common? No. Is it unusual? No. Is it down to the individual dojo/system/teacher? Yep. If you have an issue with it, talk to the instructor. Ask them their reasons for using it.

That said... I don't know of any JAPANESE Jujutsu systems that use such methods for ranking. Then again, I don't know of any JAPANESE "Jujitsu" systems... for the record...what is the actual art you're training in? Which system? If I'm right, it might go a fair way to explaining why the training method is the way it is.

(Just because I was asked, and because I think it might have been missed initially)

For clarification, my comments about no Japanese "jujitsu" systems wasn't an attack on spelling... it was an observation of a few telling signs in the OP which indicated to me the likelihood that, in reality, the OP is not actually training in a Japanese Jujutsu system... but instead in a modern, most likely Western (but influenced or based in something Japanese, or Japanese based, likely Judo or similar) system. The idea of army crawls are far more likely there, any major focus on anything to do with ground fighting is not really common in Japanese systems, and is more a modern Western approach (influenced by BJJ and Judo), and so on. As a result, my comments were to try to ascertain where the OP was training, as the original question was "is this common in Japanese Jujitsu"... and, bluntly, the answer is no. Modern, eclectic, Western systems? Yes, although not necessarily as part of a grading.

To that end, I ask again to the OP... What exactly is the system you're training in? Without knowing which art/system, it's hard to say if something is common, unusual, or bizarre. And, to be absolutely clear here, there is nothing wrong, substandard, or bad about learning a modern, Western approach... in fact, depending on the context you're training for, it could very easily be better suited than an actual Japanese system... but asking in the context of Japanese systems when it seems you're not really training in one seems a bit less than relevant.

 

[Fritz]

Could be a couple of things going on here…

Are the exercises a physical component of the rank? Some dojo place value on physical condition for each rank, while others might assume or are expecting you to take care of that on your “own” time.

Some martial arts exercises are an important part of the learning process as you move up higher in the rank- the exercises develop skills that you will need, so a certain rank might test you on that to make sure that part has been transmitted to you.

Is it a test of your fighting spirit? Your ability to keep going? Your martial arts resolve?

OR it could even be to relax you a bit. During many martial arts tests the student can be very nervous and tense, not really allowing them to give a true account for their skill.

Some schools get around this by not having rank tests, while others might exhaust you a bit so you can be tense or nervous for when the real test starts.

Just some thought and observations from both testing and being tested over the years.

 

[jks9199]

Or it could simply be sort of an initiation... Wouldn't be the silliest, craziest, or worst I've heard of.

 

[donald1]

Well you could be getting physical fitness, and it might have some connections with ground fighting that is important too because you never know when your going end up on the ground. However it could just be the teacher wants to see if you can hold up to a task the teacher has given. There's multiple Reasons really

 

[CK1980]

And in those days, we were told when we were testing (just as we were told we were competing in a tournament and helping remodel the studio). The subtext being; we were not allowed to test until we were ready. Testing was not a mere formality but it was focused on the techniques we were expected to have mastered, and the test was ours to fail as much as it was ours to pass.

In some of the BEST schools I have attended, this is the way it still is... There were times that I felt ready and I was passed over when the announcement was made who was testing. But I accepted it... Likewise there were times (most times in fact) that I felt I was not ready when I was told I was testing. Imagine my shock when I took the test and passed! If I ever decide to seriously start teaching, this is the way my tests will happen.

 

[chinto]

a lot of Okinawan schools will do "spirit testing" as part of the test. it might be 1,000 double punches for the first belt and more of that or other things as you go on. the idea is to not only to test conditioned muscles, but test your self disiplin, nd build that feeling that you can over come pain and your mind saying ' I can't do that' that so many people have. Remember there are no real 'Secrets' in Martial arts , Just a lot of hard work and the willingness not to quit!