Black Belt Grading and Duration

[Nidan Melbourne]

Recently when I was on Youtube, and saw how a Canadian Club ran their Black Belt Gradings totalling 24 Hours.

Which got me thinking, how does your club run such Gradings and how long are they?

For instance one of my old clubs; where I received my Shodan-Ho, ran a pretty strict grading to 4 hours. Albeit looking back at it, despite having 13-14 attendees we only had 1 person being promoted to Shodan and no one else above that.

And my 2nd Club, it really varied between 4 - 9+ Hrs on 1 day. Depending on the number of candidates and the ranks people were grading for.

For instance the last grading i'm aware of lasted 4.5 hrs due to having only 1 person attempting for 1st Dan, 7 for Shodan-ho and no one attempting for any other grading.

[Fat Cobra]

For the United Ryukyu Kempo Alliance, our black belt grading is a 2 day event. On Day 1, grading lasts for approximately 4 hours (this is a Friday). On day 2, grading lasts for a total of 7 hours (not counting the lunch break). Then, there is the belt ceremony that night (Saturday night) and that can last up to an hour depending on how many get promoted.

[aurik]

We have two portions of our dan gradings: we have a 12 week prep cycle followed by the exam itself. The 12 week prep cycle consists of an additional class each week where students are basically taught the test. The class will only consist of the items that are tested on, and the instructors will, for a lack of a better term, nitpick the students on what is and is not acceptable on the test. There are specific expectations for our style, our organization, and our dojo for the different components on the test, and the purpose of the prep cycle is to drill these expectations into the student's heads. The instructors will add additional stress to the students by having them perform kata and/or drills solo in front of the class, and they'll then give feedback with the expectation that the student incorporate that feedback quickly. While it is uncommon, it is possible for a student to fail the prep cycle and not be invited to test.

Our CI tries to keep the tests to no more than 2 hours. This is mainly accomplished by limiting the number of students in a giving test. During the test, the students generally demonstrate their material either alone or in a pair. Sometimes (such as for kata bunkai) they may have two pairs demonstrating at the same time. However, unlike kyu-level tests, they will never have large groups of students demonstrating concurrently. If we have more than 10 or a dozen students testing at the same time, he'll run multiple tests. For example, he ran two tests last fall -- one for youths, and one for adults.

[bushido_man96]

We don't set a time limit or constraint on testing; it takes as long as it takes, depending on the number of people testing. Those testing for 1st dan tend to take the longest, as they are required to do all the colored belt forms, all the one-steps, then their own form, testing sparring, and board breaks.

At the next level, testing will usually consist of a pre-test, where black belt basics are done, then low rank forms of the instructor or tester's choice, all low-rank one-steps. I think the HQ school does this on the morning before testing, and then we go right into testing.

Actual testing itself will consist of likely a couple of selected low rank forms, a lower black belt form, your current form, three-steps, sparring, and board breaks.

When I go back this December to finally test again I'll be back with a better report.

[aurik]

We don't set a time limit or constraint on testing; it takes as long as it takes, depending on the number of people testing. Those testing for 1st dan tend to take the longest, as they are required to do all the colored belt forms, all the one-steps, then their own form, testing sparring, and board breaks.

A few years ago, our CI added a new requirement for test eligibility -- students had to re-test over all their kyu-level material and show a dan-level proficiency with them. Once they have done so to his satisfaction, he awards them an "advanced brown belt", or brown belt with black stripe running down the middle. This is one of the ways he has trimmed the black belt test down to a 2 hour (or so) test.

[Wastelander]

Well, in my first dojo, the testing process took 2 days. One day was the written test, essays, and fitness requirements. I think that usually took around 3-4 hours. The second day was all day, at least 10 hours, depending on how many people were testing. My second dojo, though, took about 5-6 hours for the black belt test, including the time given for a written exam.

[Montana]

We've talked about this before. My personal Shodan testing took maybe 5-10 minutes under 7th Dan Kuda Yuichi, head of the Shorin Ryu Matsumura Kenpo.

I didn't even know I was being tested. We don't make a big deal out of the BB tests, or any others for that matter.

[Zaine]

The varied answers here make me wonder who the test is for. Obviously, on the surface level, the test is for the student, the passing of which will result in their black belt. But the question stands as a way to observe the egos of those involved. My own test was about 4 - 5 hours, which I think is a pretty good baseline. In it, I had to perform the entire curriculum of our system, from the first kata to the last. This also included a large amount of sparring in various styles and ways, from the bare knuckled style of Kyokushin, to the beat down style of MMA fighters. It was an exhausting test, and one that injured me and others as I struggled to prove that I was worthy of the honor of being a black belt. In this last sentence lies the crux of my question. Was the test to prove my worth to myself, or my sensei? On some levels, the answer is both. Tests exist to put students under pressure to prove their knowledge. Had the test been 30 minutes long, I think that I would have been disappointed. However, had the test been much longer than it was, I would begin to wonder if this was for my benefit, or for the ego of my instructor.

We assume that good instructors do not test students who are not ready. In that, a lot of tests become mere formality. If we mess up, that's okay, because the test was meant to test whether we stay cool under pressure, or if we break. Breaking is the thing that loses us the test. When I forgot a nunchaku kata mid-test, I wasn't pinged by my instructor for doing so because I just kept going. The observers not from my school had no idea that the kata I performed wasn't correct until they were informed later. It's something that I tell competitors at karate competitions. I don't know their kata. If they make a mistake, don't let me know. Just roll with it (sometimes literally) and pretend that you meant to do it.

Back to the question. At good test is balanced between the egos of the instructor and student. There is a give and a take, where both need to be satisfied with the performance. Both need to feel like the rank was earned, otherwise regret forms and the relationship with the rank itself sours. No one wants to see an underserving Shodan, and no Shodan wants to feel like they didn't give it their all. However, it seems to me that the longer the test becomes, breaking even 10+ hours, the more it becomes about the instructor. At what point is the instructor's ego being fed more than the student? Putting the idea of testing fees and the like aside, the closer we get to the 10 hour mark, the more I wonder if the instructor is putting undue pressure on the student just because they can. What is the point of a 10 hour test? Does the school have that much content to go through that it takes that long? Is there an extensive lunch break in the middle to make sure that the instructors, and especially the student, is fed and properly hydrated? Is it just a 10 hour slog where the student is doing nothing but the content of their curriculum? I think that if you are able to sit in on a shodan test, because I have found that nidan and above are generally lighter, that you can learn not only a lot about the school, but even more about the person proctoring the test.

[Nidan Melbourne]

Thanks for all the posts. So my Clubs i've been affiliated with have had quite varied lengths.

My last grading i attempted (did a trial run for my 3rd dan), there were 18 people at the grading.

- 2 [Practice Run] for 3rd Dan

- 3 for 1st Dan

- 10 for Provisional 1st Dan

- 3 for either 2nd or 1st Kyu

Kata - everyone does it at the same time, lowest grade stands in front for their assessed kata.

All Black Belts perform a Solo +1 Kata. But for time we may do 2 at a time.

Pre-Arranged:

- Gyakukumite - everyone does at same time.

- Bunkai - same as above

- Kyogi - 3 or 4 pairs at a time (2 instructors per per) if more instructors more pairs upstairs

Kumite - everyone at same time

[sensei8]

Our BB Testing Cycle lengths vary depending on rank. The higher the rank, the longer the Testing Cycle takes. My Hachidan Testing Cycle took about a week. We cover E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G from 10th Kyu to Hachidan, and yes, Hachidan requires a Testing Cycle.