Well, we started testing yesterday, we will finish today. Normally, testing is a 3-4 day process, but we're getting it done in 2 this time. Part of that is a few things won't be on the test - things that take up lots of space or require a partner (like sparring), or things that require materials we would have in the dojang (such as the stands for board breaking). I know, I know, we're not testing them on everything...but it's one test. They'll get tested on that stuff next time. There's a lot of stuff in the curriculum that doesn't get tested every time for black belts, for right now everyone gets the treatment.
However, this is a
much smaller test than I'm used to. We usually have anywhere from around 70-85 students testing. Smaller tests have around 60-70, bigger tests have around 85-110, but it's usually in the 70-85 range. We have a total of 32 people testing this week. Which makes sense, considering we have around 1/3 to 1/2 the active students that we usually do, and a lot of students were pretty much ready to test when we entered quarantine.
Some of the biggest challenges that students had doing virtual testing instead of in-person testing:
- Space. Some students are practicing in small rooms with lots of furniture, giving them a very narrow amount of space to do their forms. We wanted them to still use their deep stances, but to adjust their footwork so they can keep from hitting the walls or going off-camera. For the most part, they were able to adjust.
- Direction. A couple of our really young kids (4 years old) who struggle with the forms in the dojang were completely out of sorts at home. I used this as a learning moment to give them advice on how to work on their forms at home.
- Grappling. The grappling part of our curriculum has not been communicated effectively at all from home. I used to hold the opinion that you can't learn anything useful at home, based on a video by Chewjitsu on Youtube of his inability to learn BJJ from home. However, I have adjusted my opinion to be that you can't learn grappling by video. You can quite easily learn the striking techniques, footworks, and combinations (you would then go to class to train applying those techniques).
- Communication. Some students didn't have good microphones or speakers, making it difficult to communicate. Even worse, there were times we would give directions to one student to fix a mistake (such as a direction they turned during the form), but other students wouldn't realize they were supposed to wait and would follow the direction. Or, once we were addressing everyone again, they would assume we were still giving targeted directions and would still be waiting.
- Etiquette. It's been hard to enforce dojang etiquette online. Things like sitting with proper posture on the floor instead of slouching on the couch. (At this point, it would be more distracting to everyone if we were to enforce it). It's easier when you're sitting on the mat without a couch, and when the other students are sitting proper. It's also probably more difficult because the students just see us sitting at the judges table, instead of being able to watch the other belts do their forms and techniques.
Overall, I'm glad we did this. There are some students that really needed to move on to the next class. They're ready to learn new stuff, and they're ready to be pushed harder on what they already know. The way our classes are structured, you get a better understanding of your basics in the higher belts, because we apply them in more ways, and we go through the techniques at a faster pace. Those issues we had doing the online testing are things we'll clean up when we get back to doing class in person. I don't feel our standards were any different, with the main exception of the grappling and the things we didn't test; but those standards will be right back on the next test.
One thing my Master said yesterday, is next time we would have to cancel class because of weather (i.e. snow and unsafe driving conditions), we could do virtual classes again. It also gives us more flexibility if he has to travel, i.e. to go to Kukkiwon (although in that case, he could just leave me in charge again). Now we have a strategy to reduce the amount of unplanned closures we may have.
