Who is qualified to grade?

[E0richt]

I started karate about fourteen months ago in Spain. Our style was Shukokai. I went to orange belt in that and my son to yellow tabs. Our teacher (4th Dan) left the country to go back to her old school in Wales. That was about eight months ago. The only karate teacher available in my area was Freestyle (2nd Dan). They are both very good teachers but very different. I have stayed in touch with the old one by email as she comes back to Spain occasionally. She did a lot of katas while the new teacher is very keen on mostly sparring. We want to do a grading soon but there is a dfference of opinion between these teachers. My first teacher claims that my current teacher doesn´t have the particular qualification to grade students. My current teacher claims that no separate qualification is necessary but that no-one should grade their own students and that she was wrong to do so. Who is right? My son and I would love to continue to grade for belts as we have improved a lot but we don´t know who is right on this issue. Anyone know the rulings for Europe?

I think it is interesting about belt grades... initially there were no grades. It was when gichin funakoshi brought karate to Japan and decided to copy colored belts from jigoro kano judo.

 

[PhotonGuy]

It varies from style to style. But, I think that an instructor should be at least a 3rd degree black belt before grading student for rank. 1st and 2nd dans are still in that developmental stage.

As you said it varies from style to style. That being the case, to say that a student should be at least 3rd degree to grade students for rank would only apply in some styles. To say that 1st and 2nd dans are still in that developmental stage, well the fact of the matter is everybody is developing even the 3rd dans and higher. No matter how experienced you are and no matter what your rank is in the martial arts, you're always developing and learning more. But to say that 1st and 2nd dans are not yet developed enough to grade other students, again that would only apply in some styles, as you said it varies from style to style.

 

[PhotonGuy]

It comes down to the instructor himself. Obviously, the chief instructor of the dojo has the final say so, but there will be some times where less is not necessarily more!

Which means if you're unclear about grading or rank requirements it would make sense to ask the chief instructor as he's the ultimate in regards to that.

 

[PhotonGuy]

I would have to disagree with both of you - I do not think an instructor should test his/her own students, for exactly the reasons you give: as an instructor, I know my students' capabilities in class - the purpose of testing is to put students into a high-stress situation and see how they perform. It would be too easy for me, as an instructor, to say "I know Johnny can perform that technique; he is just nervous" and pass him; when Johnny is in front of a different instructor, then he has to perform under greater stress.

Exactly, one of the purposes of formal tests is to test the student's ability to perform under pressure. Its one thing to be able to perform techniques when you're practicing and not being tested, but when you're being tested and you know you're being tested that's different, you're adding pressure into the equation and so part of what formal testing is all about is to see how students perform under pressure.

 

[PhotonGuy]

I broke away from my old organisation a few years ago for reasons that are between me and them . Now then who should grade my students if not me. I sure as hell am not going to take them back to my old organisation, and damn few people know enough about what i teach to judge what standards my students should meet

If you're starting your own dojo and your own organization, then obviously you would do the grading. You're not going to go back to your old organization that you broke off from and have them grade your students, or for that matter have any other organization grade your students, you're going to grade them yourself.

 

[PhotonGuy]

I think it is interesting about belt grades... initially there were no grades. It was when gichin funakoshi brought karate to Japan and decided to copy colored belts from jigoro kano judo.

Yes initially there were no grades but the history of the colored belt system goes back further than Funakoshi and Jigoro.

 

[E0richt]

Yes initially there were no grades but the history of the colored belt system goes back further than Funakoshi and Jigoro.

please enlighten me... I have only found information showing colored belts for grading from the jigoro kano judo... unless you are talking sashes in kung fu which showed something like a Dan grade in karate....

 

[PhotonGuy]

please enlighten me... I have only found information showing colored belts for grading from the jigoro kano judo... unless you are talking sashes in kung fu which showed something like a Dan grade in karate....

Yes in kung fu they wear sashes and originally you would just wear a white sash and it would be the same sash you would wear the entire time and the only purpose it served was to hold the jacket closed. Over time the sashes would get dirty since unlike the rest of the uniform the sash was not washed. So more experienced students had darker sashes, and that played a role in the development of the colored belt system.

 

[Hyoho]

Depends upon the Association. Lower dan grades panels can usually grade Shodan.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Yes in kung fu they wear sashes and originally you would just wear a white sash and it would be the same sash you would wear the entire time and the only purpose it served was to hold the jacket closed. Over time the sashes would get dirty since unlike the rest of the uniform the sash was not washed. So more experienced students had darker sashes, and that played a role in the development of the colored belt system.

Originally and still traditionally, there are no belt or sash ranks in Kung fu