TKD Testings

[bushido_man96]

What are the components of your TKD testings? What pattern does it follow, if any? What are the colored belts expected to perform? What about black belts?

Ours is pretty standard, I guess. Colored belts start with forms, and then do one-steps with a partner, and then combinations if they are a white belt or low orange belt, and testing sparring if they are above. At the rank of brown belt, board breaking becomes required.

Black belts are expected to know all forms and one-steps. Usually, there is a pre-testing for black belts, held the night before a black belt testing. Pre-testing is required attendance. At pre-testing, we do all forms, one-steps, and free sparring.

The next day at testing, we begin by doing all one-steps. If colored belts are testing, then we break for a while, and go stretch out and practice in the basement. We then come back to our rank form, then one below our rank. Sparring comes next, which is usually 3 matches, against higher ranks. Then is board breaking, which ranges between 2 and 5 stations of 2 or more boards each.

[karatekid1975]

My last test went like this (We are WTF). We started with forms. Not all of them, but the instructor picks them at random (I think I did about 5 or 6, including the bo form). Then we did step sparring (one steps). On to what we call combat tactics. Then self defence stuff. Then we did board breaking (5 stations, two boards each. Two hand breaks, two feet, and one jump kick of our choice). Then on to sparring. I sparred about 5 rounds. 3 for my test, and I was a second person for a couple of matches for the BB's (they spar 2 on 1 for at least three rounds).

I had fun that day, too. It was a great test. Long (lots of people testing that day), but fun.

[aefibird]

All coloured belt testings start with patterns. Every grade except white belts have to perform at least 2 forms - the newest one learned for this time's testing and the previous one. E.g. for a 7th kup testing for 6th wold have to perform Taeguek 3 (the newly learned form) and Taeguek 2 (the pattern learned for the previous grading.

For 5th & 4th kupstude nts perform the latest 2 forms they know, plus one other of their choice. For 3rd kup, students perform the latest 2 forms, plus one other of the grading panel's choice. For 2nd Kup students have to demonstrate the highest Taeguek forms they know, plus at least 2 others of the examiners choice and for 1st kup students have to demonstrate all 8 Taeguek forms, plus the Basics pattern (one designed by my instructor).

Pattern testing is followed by basics, moving forwards and backwards up and down the dojang. From 6th kup upwards students can be asked to demonstrate techniques on a pad or bag, usually one hand and one foot technique for lower kup grades, moving up to more difficult combinations for higher kup grades.

After basics is Three Step or One Step sparring. 3 step is for kup grades 8, 7 and 6, 5th kup upwards do one step.

4th kup upwards then have a self-defence section, with candiates for 1st Kup also performing knife defence.

This is the followed by 1-kick, 1-kick sparring, which is no contact - participants move around the dojo as if they were in a competition sparring environment but take it in turns to kick. It is primarily a kicking exercise for beginners, to allow them to choose which kicking techniques to use from which body positions without having to worry about contact or anything other than the kick. It is kept in for all other grades because a couple of minutes of that is tiring and is a good way of building stamina if it is done correctly and with speed!

This is then followed by free sparring. White belts spar no-contact, as the examiner is concentrating more on their choice of technique. Candidates for all other grades spar with contact, especially those for 3rd kup upwards who are expected to spar full-contact. White belts and 9th kups usually do one one-minute round of sparring; the amount of rounds increase the higher up the kup grades you go.

Board breaking is introduced from 3rd kup, with one kicking break at 3rd kup, a kicking break and a hand technique break at 2nd kup and 2 kick breaks and 1 hand technique break for 1st kup.

All candidates may be tested on Korean vocabulary at any time during the test.

This is the general pattern for Kup gradings at my dojang - black belt gradings are held behind closed doors with a central testing panel from the British TKD Control Board (BTCB, who are the governing body for all WTF/Olympic TKD style clubs in the UK).

The general format of BB testings is aparrantly very similar to the format/style we use in my dojang anyway. According to people who have sat a Dan grading with the BTCB, the tests for 2nd and 1st kup at my school are physically more demanding and harder that the BTCB Chodan test anyway.

[Akaratechick]

White belts test in their specific dojo. Gold and up test twice a year along with the entire organization. We start with basics and the lower ranks sit down until you have just the BB candidates who do advanced basics. Then everyone is back up to do forms and they sit down after the last kata they know. Next, we do one steps/ BB candidates do this last followed by Tai pads. Then everyone spars except BB cand. who spar last starting one on one up to five on one. They then break boards. It's a alot of fun

[bushido_man96]

Wow, 5 on 1 sounds like that could get a bit rough. I'll bet its fun to see!

[ninjanurse]

My tests are just like Laurie's. Once they pass through me they go to the main school and perform their form/kata for the Master Instructor who approves them for graduation to the next rank...or not!

[poisendhearts]

my tests ome up in 8 weeks and im a part of the ATA Blackbelt Academy(songahm style) so we do patterns by the songahm star and you need to know the basics for your level and we have the stripe system 1 stripe-basics 2 stripe-form 3 stripe-sparring ya

[DWx]

For us, all coloured belts test their current form and the one below. They do this in groups of about four in front of the examining panel which is usually made up of their instructor and maybe an outside instructor or master.

Then they do 3 step sparring, all of this should be improvised or combinations that the student had made up themselves using techniques from their forms. At about 3rd or 4th gup (can't remember!) the attacker is allowed to perfrom any hand attack rather than the standard punch required before.

After this, 6th gups and above do 1 step, again at about 2nd or 1st gup the attacks change and the attacker can now do a leg or hand technique of their choice. Instead of 1 step, lower grades perfom combinations moving up and down in the lines at the command of the cheif examiner.

Then free sparring, or "1-for-1" sparring for lower grades. 2nd gups and above have to do 2-onto-1 sparring too. This is followed by breaking for all grades. 1 hand, 3 feet. I think from about 6th gup and below the student doesn't have to actually break on all of them, they just have to show a good measure and attempt to break a few.

After that its theory time! Questions and answers in front of the panel on what certain moves are in korean, what belt colours mean, what the tenets are, who the forms are named after etc.

Blackbelt candidates do a pre-grading 1 month before, where they are picked up on any faults which they must correct before the grading. They do a written theory test on the same day as the pre-grading. Candidates must also hand in a thesis on any subject of their choice within TKD. For junior or less able students they can choose to write about how TKD has affected them or what they have learned...

The blackbelt test itself pretty much is identical to the coloured belt grades but longer and in more depth. The test is held by a panel of masters or higher ranking blackbelts, this is usually open to anyone in the country. The only exception is where there is a particular school or group of schools in an area that have a number of candidates, then the grading can be held in the school's dojo and conducted by any examiner. A master must be present though.

The only real difference in sparring is the candidates have to do more bouts in free sparring and do 3-on-1 instead of 2-on-1. For breaking, they must do 2 power breaks (examiner chooses what material and how much), no exception, but they get to choose the techniques. When testing for 2nd degree or higher, the student can choose to do 1 power and 1 "special" break instead if they want.

[bushido_man96]

my tests ome up in 8 weeks and im a part of the ATA Blackbelt Academy(songahm style) so we do patterns by the songahm star and you need to know the basics for your level and we have the stripe system 1 stripe-basics 2 stripe-form 3 stripe-sparring ya

Who is your instructor out there in AZ? Is Master Thor in Phoenix?

[KarateEd]

bushido_man96,

White/color belt testing in my school follows this pattern, students are broken into testing groups, usually lower ranks going first. The others sit off to the side. Students first demonstrate basic techniques (blocks, kicks, strikes), then move into more advanced skills to include various combinations (during this period a "judge" may ask a student to perform any variety of odd combinations so long as it contains no skills above that students exposure. This is a great way to test for mushin or if the student goes to what Takuan Soho calls the "abiding place," however, it is more prevalent at higher ranks).

Next comes forms and then the various one-step and three-step sparing techniques. This ends the stratified testing section and everyone is included in the sparring section, though every student may not spar all other testing students. Last is board breaking if any is to be done (I can't remember at what level students start breaking boards, it has been a while since I have been around a color belt testing).

I hope I haven't forgotten anything.

Ed