how do yall get your new ranks? Testings or what??

[tkdgirl30616]

I am a student at Tae kwon do Plus in Columbia, SC, and I was wondering how yall all have to get your new ranks and all I mean bc what we have to do is that if you are a white belt or yellow belt you do your Pattern and then your one- steps. Green belt you do your pattern and spar If you are a blue belt and Sr. Blue you do your pattern and then you do target drills and spar, then Purple and sr. Purple you have to do your form and then Three-steps and then spar. Red belt and Sr. red you do your pattern an alternative past form and spar and break wood. And at black belt you do your pattern and then spar and break wood and do an alternative form. But what all do you have to do to get your new ranks?

 

Another question I have is how do your instructors become certified in what they are doing? And do they have to go through a certification seminar to get updated and renewed to stay certified are what do yall have to do? I really would like to know those things!!

 

Thanks!

[Black Dragon]

"Ya'll" ....ah, I feel so at home. Well I also train in TKD and we usually start tests with all the forms one knows up to that point. Then on to all the basic strikes and blocks, Adv. belts also do combonations, one-steps, Sparring (green and Up), breaking (red and up).

 

As for certification I'd like to know as well

[kempocos]

I study Ryukyu KEMPO ( okinawan ) our testing goes as follows.

 

white- yellow-orange-green- blue-purple-brown-BB,canidate, black belt

 

WARMUP lots of pushups, jumping jacks situps, horse stances. Black Belts do these non stop between other requirements, no stopping just 30 second water breaks if they feel kind.

 

kATA , all needed for the belt, purple and above SANCHIN includes being kicked punched and pushed. Higher the belt harder the contact

 

KICKS , STRIKES-COMBINATIONS needed for the belt level

 

KATA breakdown, self defense move for each major movement of each KATA. Brown and above need to show some knowledge of the Preassure Points involved. BLACK BELT needs to be able to explain the Preassure Points, Five Element theory, yin-yang theory behind the technique

 

ARNIS, erscrima stick- patterns, disarms for belt level, Brown Belt and higher two person sparring drills

 

SPARRING. This is not Point Sparring. There is no break in the sparring because of contact . White - blue 1 on 1 . purple and above spar 1 on 1 and 2 on 1. Black Belt Canidate and above non testing high ranking students/instructors come in to help spar (beat up on you ). They all Line up and one at a time come at you, every 45 seconds the one you are sparring drops out and a new one comes in all rested up. Depending on how many you may spar the each one two or three times.

[Sens55]

Ours is considerably different. I study Moo Duk Kwan (TKD). We have a small school, so belt testing everyone show up. We start with a warmup and then move to basics...hand techniques, kicks, blocks, etc that are needed for yellow belt. Every one does them, regardless of rank. The instructor will then add things need for the Green Belts...if you are a yellow belt and feel you know them well enough, you do them. If not, you stand still. Then he'll continue until he gets to the Blue belt techniques, then the red, then the Black. You keep going as long as you are confident in your competence.

 

After that we'll start on forms...same thing. Then we do a self-defense portion, same thing. Then we'll do 3-step and then 1-step sparring. At that point (3 or 4 hours later) everyone is dismissed. But the higher belts have to come back at a later time (usually the next day) and do the breaking and sparring. We do 2 on 1, 3 on 1, 4 on 1 and 5 on 1, depending on the belt status. The sparring partners are either other students, or even black belts in other styles, or sometimes a big guy off the street the instructor met. It's painful, but effective since you can't just learn how to handle one style or one attacker.

 

I also like that, if you're going for a higher belt, you have to do everything that a lower belt does, and then some. Good reinforcment and it wears you down, making it harder to do the more complicated moves of the belt you're testing for. You can't just focus on the "new" moves. You still have to do them all. I will say that it's completely draining. I end up going home and passing out in my chair for a couple of hours afterwards.

[Ben]

hmm... i dont think i can add anything on to that.

 

all i can say is i've seen the grading for a red belt, my friend sent me an mpeg. all i can say is i'm taking my training up a few levels especially more endurance - a lot more running and cycling. i have a whole new respect towards any blackbelt

[karatekid1975]

We don't have formal testing before black. But we do our testing in three stages.

 

All color belts learn basics, forms, one steps, counter grappling sets (defending against anything from grabs to chokes to bear hugs), joint locks, breakfalls/throws, ect (black belts learn the same, but advanced stuff. Plus weapons, defense against weapons, ect).

 

Anyways, first tip (we have three, plus three mental tips) you do basics and breakfalls/throws. The second is one steps, counter grappling and/or joint locks. Third tip you do all the above, plus forms sparring/grappling and breaking.

 

Our mental tips are usually an essay of some kind. A questionare on something. Usually why we do certian things, or on history of TKD, rules, meaning of forms, or something of that nature. No one mental tip is the same.

 

We also have "mid rank" testing (for green and blue belts, which I have to do still). You basically do everything from white belt up to your current rank (which ever mid rank it is), plus free self defense (they will randomly attack you and you have to defend), sparring/grappling, breaking, and a lot of mental stuff.