Academic Requirements

[bushido_man96]

In my humble opinion answering these questions is a good start:

What is the name of your system?

Where does XYZ originate?

Who was your teacher's teacher and who is the earliest known expert instructor of XYZ

Approximately how old is XYZ

Any other information is good to know personally but not really necessary. If someone wants to know, with a good basic knowledge it is possible to point them In the right direction and encourage them to research it themselves.

I agree that this is really a good place to start from. Lately, I've been trying to share a little bit of form knowledge with them, what the name means, and all that. I shared it with them on the white belt form, and now I have them asking me what their form means, too. Its good to keep them thinking.

For all of our black belt testing candidates, we have them write a one page essay, typed, answering questions about what TKD means to them, and what their goals are after grading for black belt.

We also have to submit essays for each dan grade after to the Grand Master for testing. I submitted my 4th dan testing paper as an article here.

[Lupin1]

I agree that this is really a good place to start from. Lately, I've been trying to share a little bit of form knowledge with them, what the name means, and all that. I shared it with them on the white belt form, and now I have them asking me what their form means, too. Its good to keep them thinking.

For all of our black belt testing candidates, we have them write a one page essay, typed, answering questions about what TKD means to them, and what their goals are after grading for black belt.

We also have to submit essays for each dan grade after to the Grand Master for testing. I submitted my 4th dan testing paper as an article here.

I like the form idea, too. I think when I personally teach forms from now on I'm going to include that as I think it's really interesting.

We don't really cover any of that in class. When you get a year or so away from Shodan our instructor gives you the "black belt exam manual" outlining everything you need to know for black belt. Part of it is giving oral explanations of the history and name meaning of each form before performing it, as well as an overview of the history of world martial arts, Okinawan martial arts, and Isshinryu specifically. I'm in the process right now of going through and researching and filling in pages of information for each talking point, though from listening to my instructor, it seems like black belt candidates in the past didn't going nearly as in depth. As I said, though, we don't go over any of it in class, so it seems up to the black belt candidate to find the information on their own.

[Lupin1]

I do like your idea of how to learn the Isshin Ryu patch Devin, any chance you're a school teacher?

I am actually. Taught 2nd grade for two years and now a middle school librarian. I do miss the classroom, though, which is partially why I'm trying to develop some more learning opportunities for our karate kids.

[sensei8]

Academic requirements for any grade is important to all practitioners of any style, imho!! Technical knowledge is only a portion within the context of any syllabus; a sliver of the pie, and nothing can satisfy more than having the whole pie.

In Shindokan, all levels are required are required to know Shindokan's history. Of course, the lower the level, the smallest details are required, and in that, the younger the student, the same goes for the history details.

As rank/level increases, so does the exacting details of Shindokan history. The length of the essay depends on rank, and our Academic Team decides the length as well as the topic/theme, especially when Senior rank is concerned.

Ranks from Godan to Hachidan, require explicit knowledge that goes beyond our Densho Scrolls; intimate knowledge!! The higher the Senior rank, the more the academic solvency is expected.

Speaking of academic requirements, Shindokan students under 18 years of age are required to carry a 'C' grade in school, hence, no passing grade...then no testing cycle!!

Great topic, btw!!

[hammer]

At the Kyokushin school I now attend there are written testing requirements for belt levels from 8th Gup. Just took the 8th Gup test which consisted of a few history questions and a lot of terminology. According to the syllabus the tests and academic requirements go up with rank, and at the senior Kyu and Dan grades there are also essay requirements thrown in.

At the TKD school where I previously went there were tests for Black Belts, but the question was more about goals, etc and had no questions on TKD techniques or concepts. We were never even really quizzed on the meaning of the forms even though we were provided that information.

I actually think having some kind of academic requirements is a good idea, I always felt like my knowledge was lacking in TKD and regular testing would have helped to mentally reinforce what we learned.

[DWx]

We do have quite a bit of stuff to learn alongside the practical. At each grade it's the Korean terminology for each new technique. Also we have meanings to all of our patterns (kata) as they are all named after someone or something from Korean history. For kids it's ok to just learn the meaning and the dates but with adults I would expect them to look into this more on their own time and learn more about the history and background to each.

When we test for 1st dan we must write a short paper on any aspect of Taekwon-Do or Martial Arts / physical fitness then when testing for 4th dan an even longer more involved paper is expected. All dan grades also have a written paper to accompany them.

I do like your idea of how to learn the Isshin Ryu patch Devin, any chance you're a school teacher?

Danielle, have you looked into Stuart Anslow's book From Creation to Unification? It has great sections on the histories behind the names of the ITF forms. I've read, and really enjoyed it: http://www.amazon.com/Creation-Unification-Complete-Histories-Patterns/dp/1906628556/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418760363&sr=1-3&keywords=Stuart+Anslow+in+books

I have seen it and it's on my wishlist

There is a lot of free information out there too of course as these were real figures from Korean history and not just some obscure name. I always thought it interesting though that most of the names for colour belt forms are philosophers and scholars (with a couple of freedom fighters thrown in for good measure ) whereas the forms traditionally assigned to blackbelt are named after military leaders and kings who fought on the battlefield.

[DWx]

I do like your idea of how to learn the Isshin Ryu patch Devin, any chance you're a school teacher?

I am actually. Taught 2nd grade for two years and now a middle school librarian. I do miss the classroom, though, which is partially why I'm trying to develop some more learning opportunities for our karate kids.

Thought as much I always thought for kids some sort of homework system with tasks like you described would be a good way of encouraging additional learning outside of the dojo but when you have a rolling enrollment rather than defined semesters it would be pretty hard to track who should be doing what. Unless of course you handed each kid a homework booklet alongside their new belt and they had to complete it all prior to their next grading

[devil dog]

I am a big proponent of knowing ones history and traditions.

We teach our students the history, terminology, rank and title structure, etc.

We require our Ikkyu testing for Shodan to write an essay on one of 10 different topics. The one most picked is a detailed history of the art including complete lineage.

It's hard to truly understand ones art if you do not know the history of it.

I would encourage you to ask your Sensei to start a academic portion and create a complete syllabus of techniques, terminology, rank structure and the history. A good foundation in ones art is a must.