Testing Requirments

[sensei8]

In General Terms:

Kihon

Kata [Empty and Weapons]

Kumite [Gohon, Ippon, Sanbon, Kiso, and Jiyu]

1-3 Step Kumite

Tuite [This is the staple of Shindokan]

Kyusho Jitsu

Bunkai/Oyo

Tameshiwara

Tegumi

Hojo Undo

Self-Defense [includes a very deep resistive methodology/ideology and training]

Japanese/Okinawa Terminology [However, the Hombu is considering to phase that portion out, but I doubt that it'll ever happen]

A written examination and/or paper [Higher Dan grades require MUCH more]

Various addition requirements that are very rank specific

Etc.

[sensei8]

My day job is actually Technical Writing, so engineers are my buddies

Btw,

I've really enjoyed reading your blog; well written across the board!!

[Nidan Melbourne]

Basically this is what we do:

Terminology

Kihon

Combinations (anything we come up with)

- also kihon Ido Ich, Ni, San

- Happon Ido (8 Directional Turning)

- 4 Corner Turning

Kata

Pre-Arranged sparring

- Including Sanbon, Yonhon, Gohon, Roppon & Nanahon

- Bunkai

- Kyogi

- Only for 1st Kyu and above

Kumite

- Free Sparring

- Awase (continuous, soft and slow)

- works movement, tactics etc

- Light Kumite

- Allow: harder contact than awase, thigh kicks, groin kicks, takedowns + throws allowed

- Point Sparring

- WKF Rules

[cardinal95]

Thanks for all the examples all! This has been super helpful!

[cardinal95]

I am curious does anyone require an allotted amount of time in plank as part of their strength requirements? I was thinking this may be a nice alternative to pushups/situps and actually way better for you (less harsh on the neck and back etc).

[Wastelander]

I don't believe that push-ups are any harder on your body than planks, if you are doing them properly. That said, my Sensei actually hasn't written up any of the fitness/strength requirements, so we have no idea what is going to be asked of us when we test. It makes things interesting

[Nidan Melbourne]

I am curious does anyone require an allotted amount of time in plank as part of their strength requirements? I was thinking this may be a nice alternative to pushups/situps and actually way better for you (less harsh on the neck and back etc).

Doing planks were designed for muscular endurance and not strength training. That is why it is so difficult for people to do.

Now Push Ups and Sit Ups are designed for strength training.

BUT the concerning thing is that people are incorrectly doing those exercises and even teaching them. If people learn how to do the exercises properly you will become stronger and cause less injury.

also there are physiological issues with those exercises for those overweight/obese or have back + neck issues

[kensei]

We follow the JKA testing sylabus now, but even when My instructor was not JKA ( a short period of wandering the wilds) we stuck close to the testing format.

the idea is that you are testing a persons Karate skills, not their physical skills. We do the three K's and occasionally alter them slightly.

Mostly start off with Testing Kata, move onto Kihon waza and then finish with Kumite.

We have added several different Kata for Shodan (not just the one you pick but the ones we pick) in the past (we dont do shodan anymore, thats JKA licenced) and then our Kihon has gone from pretty basic to really crazy, When I tested under my instructor for shodan I had to do the standar Kihon and then each of the testing board members (four) made up two drills per candidate that we had to do on the spot ten times each as perfect as possible.

We also played with Kumite, normally its just Jiyu Ippon kumite but Sensei used to throw in 10 step (or more, basically throw as many techniques while chasing a guy who has to block) and we have had multiple opponents one after the other and all black belt level.

And of course the hidious pencil test.

but no push ups, no running and no other kind of calisthenics. I agree with him and his views, we are not worried if you can do a push up...anyone can train to do push ups, but you have to work Karate to do Karate, this is not a test to see how is a good athlete, we want to gage your Karate...and through that we will see if you are in shape.

[cardinal95]

These are all awesome (and interesting) points which leads me to some thoughts.

Some of us in the adult class are a bit older, and have old sports injuries (myself included) which makes some of the strength training a bit difficult. Why I returned to Karate, as opposed to joining a basketball or soccer league, is because you can truly do it for a lifetime if done properly. A few of my fellow karateka have really bad knees and I have a bad back and ankle so the pushups and sit ups are incredibly tricky and sometimes painful for some of us. Though I could do them just fine at age 16, ages 30, 40 and 50 are quite different. In short, I appreciate the interpretation that really the karate skills are being tested, not the strength/athleticism.

Though, I am obviously not going to change our requirements, as its not my place, this is definitely a point that I think needs to be mulled over. I know the other girls I am promoting with in September are very hesitant to do so because of the physical demands required to promote and their existing aches and pains, which I can totally relate to. Yet, these requirements were put in place a very long time ago now, and sports/sports medicine has come a long way indicating that we should not be doing certain things we've done for a lifetime (e.g. where exactly the knee falls in a kiba dachi in relation to foot position can destroy your joints). You've all give me a lot to think about here.

[Kusotare]

These are all awesome (and interesting) points which leads me to some thoughts.

Some of us in the adult class are a bit older, and have old sports injuries (myself included) which makes some of the strength training a bit difficult. Why I returned to Karate, as opposed to joining a basketball or soccer league, is because you can truly do it for a lifetime if done properly. A few of my fellow karateka have really bad knees and I have a bad back and ankle so the pushups and sit ups are incredibly tricky and sometimes painful for some of us. Though I could do them just fine at age 16, ages 30, 40 and 50 are quite different. In short, I appreciate the interpretation that really the karate skills are being tested, not the strength/athleticism.

Though, I am obviously not going to change our requirements, as its not my place, this is definitely a point that I think needs to be mulled over. I know the other girls I am promoting with in September are very hesitant to do so because of the physical demands required to promote and their existing aches and pains, which I can totally relate to. Yet, these requirements were put in place a very long time ago now, and sports/sports medicine has come a long way indicating that we should not be doing certain things we've done for a lifetime (e.g. where exactly the knee falls in a kiba dachi in relation to foot position can destroy your joints). You've all give me a lot to think about here.

There are no such physical / strength training exercises as part of the JKF (Japan Karate Federation) grading syllabus in Japan.

In fact, the requirements are quite sparse - you just have to do them very well.

They comprise of:

Kihon

Kata

Yakusoku Kumite and

Jiyu Kumite

And thats it up to Hachidan - as they don't grade above that.

K.