grading in japan... sometimes a problem

[nikozamo]

now im in katsuura and y go for nidan, and a have a problem, the written test... my sensei says i need to make it in japanese, and y have the questions BUT THE THING IS I DON`T UNDERSTAND TOO MUCH JAPANESE AND THE QUESTIONs AND ANSWERS ARE IN KANJI... so i don`t know what to do and the exam is coming... that`s it...:alien:

[Kenshi]

Rather than ask your sensei (who may not know) get in touch with the local federation who are running the exam.... I am guessing that they may say its ok.

[Cool Cat]

When I did my nidan in Tokyo a few years ago I had to write the answers to the exam questions in Japanese. However, I had the questions in advance and was able to get references from the All Japan Kendo Federation. Therefore, I brought the completed exam paper with me to the grading.

If you don't know too much Japanese at this stage you should ask a fellow student to help you. Maybe even buy the Japanese - English Dictionary of Kendo which helped me a lot.

Cheers

[nikozamo]

thanks by the recomendations... lets see what happen.... hahahaha if i pass the exam i will put one post here... :)

[don don]

I took a couple of grades in Kyoto and was allowed to have an interpreter, a local English sensei, read the qus. to me. I then wrote in English and she translated my answers to the panel afterwards. So there are precedents for such an arrangement. Maybe with some diplomacy you could arrange this?
Best of luck.

[nikozamo]

now i feel more light for the exam.. thank you... and someone knows where i can find the questiosn in inglish?.. thanks again:cool:

[Kenshi]

you dojo should have recieved the questions already. ask your sensei.

as for english --- i bet almost 100% your federation wlll allow you to answer in english. for the guys above, they probably didnt even know it was an option... and i bet their sensei didnt either.

if you cant speak japanese well enough to speak to your federation try to ask a friend. if you dont try to do it, then no one will.

[Wark 1978]

with both my shodan and nidan that i have taken in japan i was allowed to answer in english. a sensei from my dojo contacted the kanagawa federation and asked if this was possible and they said that it was ok.

http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10788

in this thread i have written the translations of the questions although i imagine that they will be different for your test.

good luck!!

[Ramen]

Can anyone share their broader experiences in doing their grading in Japan, especially particular challenges in being a foreigner. Despite original intentions not to take any grading exams (late starter and too old), Sensei is insistent on preparing for 1st kyu (what happened to 6 to 5?). Thanks.

[James]

...(late starter and too old)..,

tish and piffle!


Sensei is insistent on preparing for 1st kyu (what happened to 6 to 5?).

you don't say which art you are grading in, but you should have no particular problems being a foreigner. Just make sure you are on top of practical things like getting to the venue, understanding the registration if your Japanese is ropey, knowing which group you are supposed to be in; someone from your dojo will most likely be attending and more than happy to handhold you through the process, just so you are not in Hall A, when your grading is starting in Hall B.
As long as you understand what is required of your kendo/iai/jodo etc. being a foreigner is not much of an issue.

It is normal for adults to start grading at 1st kyu. In which case you may well be awarded it at your own dojo without much fuss. If Sensei is pushing you for it, you are ready, just go for it.

[Darknails]

There is a nice report from Francesco Stajano on his nidan test in Japan. Follow this link
http://www.kendo.org.uk/newsevents/misc/franknidan.shtml

Quite an interesting read. He prepared the answers and memorised them in hiragana. The panel was amused by the hiragana writing while all the others used kanji where ever possible.

[Ramen]

tish and piffle!

More like 'creak and groan' for me. Certainly if I get the very "hand-held" support that Francesco in Darknails refered article got, I should see any complex logistics and protocols through. I guess the most unerving would be if anything outside of this should occur. But it sounds like they're very accomodating to foreigners.

[quote=Darknails]There is a nice report from Francesco Stajano [quote]

Good read for experience. Its ironic that he regards answering the questions in english as cheating when in fact questions are submited months before and he had time to prepare and memorize. I think I'd rather just be sincere about it and do it in English. Won't it be embarassing if a judge ask a clarifying question and you have to say ... eh ... gomen nasai ... um ... I very much applaud his effort though.

[KevinF]

I tested for shodan and nidan in Japan - I remember there were three questions for each exam, and I was given the examination questions about a month before the exam. As I recall, the questions were determined by the ken-renmei, or prefectural kendo assocaition. For shodan, my sensei basically photocopied pages from a book for me and highlighted what I should write for the first two questions (for the nidan, he gave me a japanese-english kendo dictionary, made sure I could read the questions and sent me off with a "ganbare!"). While the first two questions on both exams were regarding maai, or kamae, or one of the kata, the third question for the shodan was "Why did you start practicing kendo?" For the nidan, the third question was changed to "Why do you continue to practice kendo?"

I really recommend the Japanese-English Dictionary of Kendo published by the All Japan Kendo Federation - its very helpful. I wrote out my answers, copied them several times before I wrote on the official sheet, and had the whole thing checked over by several people I trusted to actually advise me properly on grammar and style.

I was rewarded for my diligence with an embarassing moment: during the closing ceremony of the danshinsha where I tested for nidan, the chair of the testing committee read my answer to the third question aloud to the kendoka gathered. He prefaced the reading by saying that the answer had been written by a foreigner, whereupon I felt all eyes were on me. At that moment, despite his commending me for the proper spirit and encouraging others to have the same feeling - I wished I were anywhere but there!

So a word of warning - if you write the answers in Japanese, don't overthink the answers. :cheerful:

[Ramen]

... before I wrote on the official sheet

Meaning you didn't have to write on the spot, but was allowed to submit a pre-written? I think I read in another thread something similar, but he had to at least re-write it on the day.


So a word of warning - if you write the answers in Japanese, don't overthink the answers.

This is what I mean by an awkward moment. But again, they seem very accomodating and respectful. Perhaps it should be in both languages to show that you at least conscious and considerate grading in Japan.

How / where do you buy the dictionary?

[KevinF]

You can get the dictionary at the IKF website (go to the ZNKR website and click on International Information/English and then on books and videos). It is currently priced at 2100 yen (+400 yen for domestic postage).

http://www.kendo-fik.org/english-page/english-page2/books-and-videos.htm

I think its a good resource, especially if you live in Japan.

[Ramen]

Sooper thanks. Found some other interesting materials too.

[Super Kodachi]

I'd be interested to hear about your experiences at grading in Japan. I'm considering grading there next year. The hardest block seems to be the grading paper. But there seems to be lots of ways around this, so I'm sure it shouldn't present a huge problem.

Then again theres always the surviving the jigeiko part.... :eek:

[James]

...The hardest block seems to be the grading paper.

Hi Jon,

Most importantly find out what is required in the prefecture you are grading in, it can differ, test paper, kata, fees etc. For my grading in West Tokyo, we all had to do our papers beforehand, and just hand them in on the day, (I guess to cut through the numbers).
The questions are usually available well in advance, so plenty of time to learn some model answers.
If you need, as George suggests, just ask if you can submit in English. They are not going to say no. (That would be impolite and internationally unenlightened). If they require some kind of translation they will make ample allowance to make this easy for you.

The paper should not be a major hurdle, or even on your mind, when you are at the grading; you should be relaxed and ready to 'enjoy' a few minutes of kendo. Hence my previous post, people at gradings who are running around in a flap are usually stressed about not knowing where they should be or some other practical issue that has nothing to do with kendo. Get that stuff out of the way, and you can just do some kendo in a good state of mind.

A Canadian guy at my last grading broke his shinai, okay pretty rare in that two minutes, but when he was given permission to get his spare, he was floundering around trying to explain he needed to borrow one.
Imagine turning up to a grading or shiai with less than 3 shinai.
(BTW he recovered okay and passed).

For my grading I knew I would be travelling on my own but it involved a few train changes; so the previous weekend I did the journey; that way when leaving my house on the morning of the grading I was in a relaxed state knowing where I was going, how long it took, and that I would need to use a monorail.
Even when they asked if I had chalk to number my tare, I could answer 'yes, in my bag.'

Sorry this stuff is all a bit boring, but at the grading it is already too late to do anything about the level of your kendo or the wild card that is your opponent.
So:
Know your prefectures requirements, and ,
Turn up at the venue in good time and relax whilst watching other people scamper around trying to find out when/where they should have paid the grading fee.
They will be the chickens - you will be the Ice Man!
Go out and twat something

For more kendo advice, George has the recent yondan in Japan experience.

I would like to hear his opinions too!

Oi George!

[James]

oops double post

[nikozamo]

i forget... finally i pass the exam!!! n_____n