Karate Grading

Yesterday at my dojo (Missouri Karate Association) we had a grading session. Such sessions are sometimes called "belt tests." In very traditional dojos, like this one (which teaches Shotokan), you don't ask to be graded; instead, the instructors invite you to test because they feel like you're ready. More importantly, you don't just automatically get graded because you've been there for 2 months since the last time or something like that. Every belt you get, every level you attain, you have to work hard for. And the higher up you go, the more you realize that you have so much to learn, and the journey never ends. In fact, first dan (shodan, or black belt) really just means that you've finally gotten the basics down sufficiently to really start learning karate.

The instructors at MKA are three brothers: Barry (the chief instructor), Brian, and Darrell Power. All excellent, and champions in their own right. For this grading session, we were very fortunate that their father, Barry F. Power Sensei, flew in from Vancouver. He also ran a couple of seminars prior to the grading, both of which were incredibly instructive. I hope to see him again.

Anyway, I was testing for nikyu. Usually, karateka (students of karate) begin at 10th kyu, almost always a white belt, and go all the way up to 1st kyu (ikkyu), almost always a brown belt. In between can be a whole bunch of different colored belts, but there isn't too much standardization for those. You can really only rely on white, brown, and black. Anyway, nikyu (2nd kyu) is usually a brown belt, as it is at MKA.

Grading in Shotokan has the same kind of form as almost every regular class session: kihon (basics), kata (formal exercises, or forms), and kumite (sparring). Kihon comprises the basics of karate: stances, punching, blocking, kicking. Kata are the things that are almost like dances that you'll see individuals or teams do; sequences of moves that you do in a very particular way, and you can spend your whole karate career perfecting them (same with kihon, for that matter). Kumite is when you and a sparring partner get together and "fight;" in some dojos, you really fight, but not in Shotokan (which works for me; "no pain, no pain!").

As you might imagine, the kihon, kata, and kumite that you have to do to attain each new level get more and more difficult as you move up the ranks. Nikyu is pretty demanding, and ikkyu is harder still, etc. You definitely spend some time during the grading trying to catch your breath, because with every punch, kick, and block, you're really putting everything you have into it. And your brain has to be working all the time, remembering exactly what to do and how to do it.

For nikyu, I had to do a fairly substantial chunk of kihon (you can read about it here). I tested alongside another guy in the dojo, who's been really helpful to me since I started there a few months ago (he accidently kicked another guy's knee during the seminar right before the testing, and his left great toe was pretty screwed up; he doesn't think he broke it, but it sure looked purple and painful!). We had to do the kata called Bassai Dai, which is probably my favorite kata (so far, anyway). Then we were asked to do another kata, whatever was our favorite other kata. I almost chose Heian Godan, but I like Tekki Shodan as well, and it's quite different from Bassai Dai and the Heian kata (the plural of "kata" is "kata," I believe) I know, so I (like my test-mate) chose to do that one. And then we did some ippon kumite, which is a kihon kind of one-step sparring. Then we got some well-deserved critique from Brian F. Power Sensei. And then it was over!

I'm feeling it today. Class on Thursday, seminar Friday, seminar Saturday morning, and then grading, have all left me with some sore muscles. I need to get into better shape! We won't find out how we did for a few class sessions. Of course I hope I passed, but you never know. I really just want to be ranked where I should be ranked (I was a brown belt in Bill Bly Sensei's dojo in North Carolina, but I've been wearing my white belt since I came to MKA), and it is absolutely up to the instructors to say where that is. 

If I get some pictures, I'll post them! And I'll let you know how I did when I find out.