- Joined
- Sep 15, 2012
- Messages
- 6,714
- Reaction score
- 1,903
What is required in karate to advance from white to yellow, yellow to orange, so on and so forth?
Karate: Belt advancing
- Thread starter shincheckin
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2013
- Messages
- 17,758
- Reaction score
- 4,362
$$$$$$$$$$
Perform the kata for each colour with proper form. Execute a front kick, side kick and back kick in one motion. Possibly break some boards. Do some arranged sparring. Do some free sparring.
If you do Shotokan, you will probably fail the first black belt test.
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2015
- Messages
- 2,600
- Reaction score
- 0
There is no "one size fits all" answer to this question. It depends on style, organization, official syllabus, preferred emphasis by the head instructor, whether the school is a legit school with high standards or a Mcdojo willing to hand out illegitimate black belts to whoever "pays for one", etc. But the common/generic template is a progression of
Basics
Forms
Prearranged Sparring (three step and one step)
Self defense sequences
Free sparring
Some schools will also require board breaking and some require you to complete a written exam and/or written essay.
The non Mcdojo clubs will also seriously test your physical and mental conditioning and "Fighting Spirit".
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2012
- Messages
- 6,714
- Reaction score
- 1,903
good stuff, thanks for the info my friend.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2013
- Messages
- 17,758
- Reaction score
- 4,362
Bang test
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2009
- Messages
- 19,009
- Reaction score
- 5,333
EXAMPLES below (YMMV):
Shotokan:
http://www.jkashotokanireland.ie/downloads/JKA_Kyu_Grading.pdf
http://www.shotokankarate.ca/dojo grading requirements.htm
http://www.maineshotokan-skif.com/testingreq.htm
http://www.karateshotokan.ca/index.php/en/dojo/all-belt-requirements
Kyokushin:
https://kyokushinbelgium.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/iko-technical-syllabus-2011.pdf
http://www.kyokushinwla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=39&lang=en
Goju:
https://www.kenkon.org/download/IOGKF_Kyu_Grade_Syllabus.pdf
https://budokai.us/testing-requirements-goju-ryu/
Wado:
http://www.wado-uk.co.uk/documents/PDF's/Kyu Grade Syllabus 2012.pdf
http://www.shudokankarate.org/belt-ranks-testing-requirements
Shito:
http://shitokai.com/cyber-academy/shitoryu-karate-do-grading-syllabuses
http://shitokai.ca/shitoryu-karate-do-grading-syllabuses/
Kenpo (most McDojo-prone IMO):
http://www.stanfordkenpo.com/belt-requirements/
http://www.americankenpo.com/belt_requirements.html
Shotokan:
http://www.jkashotokanireland.ie/downloads/JKA_Kyu_Grading.pdf
http://www.shotokankarate.ca/dojo grading requirements.htm
http://www.maineshotokan-skif.com/testingreq.htm
http://www.karateshotokan.ca/index.php/en/dojo/all-belt-requirements
Kyokushin:
https://kyokushinbelgium.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/iko-technical-syllabus-2011.pdf
http://www.kyokushinwla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=39&lang=en
Goju:
https://www.kenkon.org/download/IOGKF_Kyu_Grade_Syllabus.pdf
https://budokai.us/testing-requirements-goju-ryu/
Wado:
http://www.wado-uk.co.uk/documents/PDF's/Kyu Grade Syllabus 2012.pdf
http://www.shudokankarate.org/belt-ranks-testing-requirements
Shito:
http://shitokai.com/cyber-academy/shitoryu-karate-do-grading-syllabuses
http://shitokai.ca/shitoryu-karate-do-grading-syllabuses/
Kenpo (most McDojo-prone IMO):
http://www.stanfordkenpo.com/belt-requirements/
http://www.americankenpo.com/belt_requirements.html
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2008
- Messages
- 428
- Reaction score
- 0
Oh boy, this is going to be a long post...
As others have mentioned, there is no universal standard across karate styles. McDojos aside, I think it's safe to say that most karate schools will have some sort of time requirement (must have been previous rank for X amount of time), and require you to perform basics, solo forms, partner drills, and sparring to whatever standards they have set. What those standards are can vary widely, and the types of basics, forms, drills, and sparring can also vary widely. Even comparing two schools from the same style, or even the same organization, the standards and expectations can be different. Generally, an organization will set minimum standards, and then some schools will choose to raise theirs above it--that's what my dojo does. This can definitely lead to confusion, unfortunately.
One thing I will add is that, in general, the Japanese and Okinawans don't think much of a first degree black belt rank (shodan). It literally means "beginning level" if you translate it. It only got placed on a pedestal and given high expectations when it left Japan and Okinawa. As I understand it, the way most Westerners see black belt is closer to what Japanese/Okinawans expect of third degree black belts (sandan)--that's when they start to see you as a "serious karateka," so to speak.
Now, as far as my organization goes, I can't remember the exact requirements because the minimums are pretty low, and we don't use them--it's basically just that you have to learn all of the forms and partner drills by 5th degree (godan), and must be at least 30 years old. There are time-in-grade requirements but they are pretty short, so that you could potentially achieve 5th degree in 11 years. In contrast, in our dojo you have to be actively training for the same number of years in your current rank as the rank you are going for (2 years as a first degree before you can test for second, 3 years as a second before you can test for third, etc.), meaning you would have been training as a BLACK BELT for 15 years before even being eligible to test for 5th degree, not counting your years of training to get to black belt in the first place.
That aside, our dojo has the following requirements for a first degree black belt, excluding the requirements for the ranks before:
1. Must have held previous rank for at least 1 year of active training (minimum 2 classes/week)
2. Must be at least 16 years old
3. Must have logged at least 20 hours assistant teaching classes since last rank
4. Must complete a 100 question paper exam with a passing grade
5. Must know all basics on the dojo curriculum
6. Must know all 19 solo forms in the style
7. Must know at least 7 of the prearranged partner drills in the style
8. Must know all 29 defensive techniques on the dojo curriculum
9. Must be approved for testing by at least one instructor that will be on the testing panel
10. Must be assigned a solo form to interpret into practical application in its entirety
If they meet these requirements, then they are allowed to test. The test begins with about an hour of physical exercises, ranging from cardio and calisthenics to kettlebells and chi-ishi (like an old-school karate macebell). There are no real requirements for this section, except to push them to exhaustion without them giving up or slacking off. After that, they are generally run through the basics, mostly to see how they hold up after the workout, and to make sure they stay tired before they get to the more taxing material.
Then we get into the solo forms, and they will have to perform every kata in the style, repeated as necessary to the satisfaction of everyone on the testing panel. They will also be spot-checked throughout this section to demonstrate an understanding of the practical application of the movements of the kata--this adds uncertainty to the test, because they don't know what they will be checked on, and have to have an answer for everything they could potentially be checked on. They will have to not only demonstrate this statically, but against resistance, usually with someone from the testing panel acting as attacker. We may also test their recall and understanding of the forms by having them perform them with certain timing, or stopping to do something else between sequences, or running it as quickly as they can, or under tension, etc.
After that, we generally go through the prearranged partner drills, which must be performed to the organization's standards to the satisfaction of the panel. This will often come with requests from the panel for the testees to demonstrate alternative finishing moves for the drills, or finding ways to end them early. Then we usually have them go through the defensive techniques, and if they aren't doing them against enough resistance, someone from the panel will go out and attack them. They also have to be able to adapt the techniques to a variety of attacks. This often includes having people circle up around one person and attacking them one after the other in rapid succession, as well.
This is when we usually have them demonstrate their breakdown of applications for the form they were assigned. At shodan, we aren't expecting a full form's worth of applications that meet every requirement for practicality, but they should be able to make them work against at least a bit of resistance, and they have to actually reflect the movements and postures of the form.
Finally, we gear up to spar. We do a lot of different types of sparring in our dojo, and the types of sparring you encounter in testing change as you go up through the ranks. Generally, black belt tests will feature MMA-style sparring and resistant randori with a focus on the applications found in the solo forms. We usually have everyone testing spar each other for at least one round, then we start having them rotate through sparring people from the panel, and they spar the chief instructor last, whose job is really to make them want to give up, and have to push past it.
As others have mentioned, there is no universal standard across karate styles. McDojos aside, I think it's safe to say that most karate schools will have some sort of time requirement (must have been previous rank for X amount of time), and require you to perform basics, solo forms, partner drills, and sparring to whatever standards they have set. What those standards are can vary widely, and the types of basics, forms, drills, and sparring can also vary widely. Even comparing two schools from the same style, or even the same organization, the standards and expectations can be different. Generally, an organization will set minimum standards, and then some schools will choose to raise theirs above it--that's what my dojo does. This can definitely lead to confusion, unfortunately.
One thing I will add is that, in general, the Japanese and Okinawans don't think much of a first degree black belt rank (shodan). It literally means "beginning level" if you translate it. It only got placed on a pedestal and given high expectations when it left Japan and Okinawa. As I understand it, the way most Westerners see black belt is closer to what Japanese/Okinawans expect of third degree black belts (sandan)--that's when they start to see you as a "serious karateka," so to speak.
Now, as far as my organization goes, I can't remember the exact requirements because the minimums are pretty low, and we don't use them--it's basically just that you have to learn all of the forms and partner drills by 5th degree (godan), and must be at least 30 years old. There are time-in-grade requirements but they are pretty short, so that you could potentially achieve 5th degree in 11 years. In contrast, in our dojo you have to be actively training for the same number of years in your current rank as the rank you are going for (2 years as a first degree before you can test for second, 3 years as a second before you can test for third, etc.), meaning you would have been training as a BLACK BELT for 15 years before even being eligible to test for 5th degree, not counting your years of training to get to black belt in the first place.
That aside, our dojo has the following requirements for a first degree black belt, excluding the requirements for the ranks before:
1. Must have held previous rank for at least 1 year of active training (minimum 2 classes/week)
2. Must be at least 16 years old
3. Must have logged at least 20 hours assistant teaching classes since last rank
4. Must complete a 100 question paper exam with a passing grade
5. Must know all basics on the dojo curriculum
6. Must know all 19 solo forms in the style
7. Must know at least 7 of the prearranged partner drills in the style
8. Must know all 29 defensive techniques on the dojo curriculum
9. Must be approved for testing by at least one instructor that will be on the testing panel
10. Must be assigned a solo form to interpret into practical application in its entirety
If they meet these requirements, then they are allowed to test. The test begins with about an hour of physical exercises, ranging from cardio and calisthenics to kettlebells and chi-ishi (like an old-school karate macebell). There are no real requirements for this section, except to push them to exhaustion without them giving up or slacking off. After that, they are generally run through the basics, mostly to see how they hold up after the workout, and to make sure they stay tired before they get to the more taxing material.
Then we get into the solo forms, and they will have to perform every kata in the style, repeated as necessary to the satisfaction of everyone on the testing panel. They will also be spot-checked throughout this section to demonstrate an understanding of the practical application of the movements of the kata--this adds uncertainty to the test, because they don't know what they will be checked on, and have to have an answer for everything they could potentially be checked on. They will have to not only demonstrate this statically, but against resistance, usually with someone from the testing panel acting as attacker. We may also test their recall and understanding of the forms by having them perform them with certain timing, or stopping to do something else between sequences, or running it as quickly as they can, or under tension, etc.
After that, we generally go through the prearranged partner drills, which must be performed to the organization's standards to the satisfaction of the panel. This will often come with requests from the panel for the testees to demonstrate alternative finishing moves for the drills, or finding ways to end them early. Then we usually have them go through the defensive techniques, and if they aren't doing them against enough resistance, someone from the panel will go out and attack them. They also have to be able to adapt the techniques to a variety of attacks. This often includes having people circle up around one person and attacking them one after the other in rapid succession, as well.
This is when we usually have them demonstrate their breakdown of applications for the form they were assigned. At shodan, we aren't expecting a full form's worth of applications that meet every requirement for practicality, but they should be able to make them work against at least a bit of resistance, and they have to actually reflect the movements and postures of the form.
Finally, we gear up to spar. We do a lot of different types of sparring in our dojo, and the types of sparring you encounter in testing change as you go up through the ranks. Generally, black belt tests will feature MMA-style sparring and resistant randori with a focus on the applications found in the solo forms. We usually have everyone testing spar each other for at least one round, then we start having them rotate through sparring people from the panel, and they spar the chief instructor last, whose job is really to make them want to give up, and have to push past it.
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2012
- Messages
- 6,714
- Reaction score
- 1,903
thanks for the info my friend!
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2012
- Messages
- 6,714
- Reaction score
- 1,903
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2012
- Messages
- 1,226
- Reaction score
- 0
I used to do kyoku... Kata, arranged spar, physical test, hardening test, oral exam coz were all taught in japanese...
