Grading in Australia

[Jez_A]

Hi,

Does anyone know when the next grading will take place in NSW, Australia. I believe that grading was held in August, but I'm not sure when the next one is?.

Thanks in advance.

Jez

[Kendoka]

Hi,

Does anyone know when the next grading will take place in NSW, Australia. I believe that grading was held in August, but I'm not sure when the next one is?.

Thanks in advance.

Jez
Ask your sensei.

Richard

[Haggis]

Should be Febuary I believe, hopefully that will be my first grading :).

[twix]

Should be Febuary I believe, hopefully that will be my first grading :).
how long do you have to have trained until your first grading?
i've just started not long ago, so i don't think i'm fit for grading yet. but i'm also wondering if i should tag along to picton to watch and learn...

[Gohanssj]

Im up in queensland, but the guy who grade's in brisbane sucks cause he doesnt like people who are better than he is, he sucks, so the instructor at my dojo takes all his students (when they are ready) when were ready we all go over to japan to get graded, but that will be a while for me yet.

[Gohanssj]

Im up in queensland, but the guy who grade's in brisbane sucks cause he doesnt like people who are better than he is, he sucks, so the instructor at my dojo takes all his students (when they are ready) when were ready we all go over to japan to get graded, but that will be a while for me yet. well this is only to get the dans im not sure how we get grades and stuff lol im tired.......

[Chopstix]

i've just started not long ago, so i don't think i'm fit for grading yet. but i'm also wondering if i should tag along to picton to watch and learn...
I'm sure it should be no problem, as long as the spectators do not distract the kendokas. I'll ask my sensei to confirm :)

[twix]

I'm sure it should be no problem, as long as the spectators do not distract the kendokas. I'll ask my sensei to confirm :)
Viv Yung said it's perfectly ok for non-grading kendokas to watch the grading.
But it's like 5 hours drive from Sydney or something, I think?

[Chopstix]

Viv Yung said it's perfectly ok for non-grading kendokas to watch the grading.
But it's like 5 hours drive from Sydney or something, I think?
Is she going for her shodan?

Picton is 80km from Sydney - I would say an hour and a half drive.

[Chopstix]

Apparently today's 6 kyu grading (at Picton NSW) was quite tough - 1.5 hours total for the 6kyu exams (approximately 18 6kyu wannabes). They did the standard kihon men/kote/do cuts, footwork etc which took little time as they were divided into 3 groups of 6. But they were recalled to do those cuts again against 4 motodachis who were themselves grading for ikkyu. I observed one motodachi receiving 4 do cuts to the armpit in a row - and those cuts were performed with "spirit". Ouch!! :D

Australian grading seems tough aye?

[Chook]

Hah yeah. I went for 3rd kyu and it took AGES. Those eighteen 6th kyu candidates just didn't seem to get a rest :) To answer a former question, No, Viv didn't go for shodan, although I reckon she'd ace it. I took the hour-long trip from Wollongong to grade, because well, when gradings around here are only once every six months, you really should make the effort. And I got photos.

Chopstix, which kyu did you go for?

[Chopstix]

Chopstix, which kyu did you go for? I didn't grade - I was sitting there taking photos! I was sitting across from you guys I think. :)

EDIT - ahahahahaha I think I know who you are now - you were the one who let me try on your F23 do I believe :) Congrats on 3rd kyu btw.

[Chook]

Aaaaah yes! So that was you! :D

Thanks. :) I had no idea it was an F23. All I can tell you is that it's black, it's from Koei and it fits me perfectly. The only problem with that armour so far is that tonight I somehow managed to get tsuki'ed instead of hit on the kote, and let's just say that it got through the tare. It hurts.

Do you have any thumbnails of your photos?

[Chopstix]

http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?p=33787#post33787 (they're not thumbnails btw). I do have them in small sizes but I'll have to send them to you by email (about 910kb unzipped) - send me a PM if you're interested :)

I've already agreed to distribute the photos for our dojo's website and I think the NSWKA may be interested in them too. Perhaps you might see them on those websites in more manageable sizes.

[Danny Boy]

Apparently today's 6 kyu grading (at Picton NSW) was quite tough - 1.5 hours total for the 6kyu exams (approximately 18 6kyu wannabes). They did the standard kihon men/kote/do cuts, footwork etc which took little time as they were divided into 3 groups of 6. But they were recalled to do those cuts again against 4 motodachis who were themselves grading for ikkyu. I observed one motodachi receiving 4 do cuts to the armpit in a row - and those cuts were performed with "spirit". Ouch!! :D

Australian grading seems tough aye?


Jesus Christ, we're talking 6th Kyu here, not Hachi Dan. Any idea why they're so strict (over the top i'd say) with gradings down under ?

[Chopstix]

Jesus Christ, we're talking 6th Kyu here, not Hachi Dan. Any idea why they're so strict (over the top i'd say) with gradings down under ? Frankly speaking, I have no idea. I forgot to mention that there were 6 examiners for 6 kyu grading! Geez I've never heard of that! I could, however, speculate: apparently alot of 6kyus dropped out after kendo coz, let's face it, 6kyu is generally a very easy exam, and perhaps beginners may view kendo to be an unchallenging art. So this time, they made the grading hard, but promoted quite a few to 5th and 4th kyus for excellent performances. Hopefully more of them could view that as a technical challenge which gives some more personal development space.

I predict that 6kyu wannabes may have to do jigeiko in grading next year! :D

[mingshi]

That's a waste of everyone else's time... My Shodan grading after the WKC, excluding the Kata part, only lasted 2 minutes (one for each opponent). There were only 20 people going for shodan that day. With a similar no. of people going for each grade up to 7Dan, we did everything in 5 hrs.

My point is, do you need 1.5 hours to know if the examine-ees are ready for their 6kyu or not??!? Not only you need a referee seminar, you may well be considering a grading panel seminar as well :(

[Chook]

Yeah. My 6th kyu was pretty much the same. Footwork, Kihon, ni-dan waza, kihon against motodachi. I can't remember it going on as long as this one though.

In comparison, my next grading in Willoughby for 5th kyu was footwork, kihon, ni-dan waza. Over in 5 minutes. I skipped a level and made 4th kyu after I put my men on and took the 4th kyu grading, which was kihon cuts and kirkaeshi.

EDIT: Forgot to mention for 6th I had to do sandanwaza - kote-men-do.

[Chopstix]

Mingshi - I agree. It makes no sense for 6kyus to go through so much crap when the higher grades get theirs done in so little time. :(

[Catherine]

Hi all,

There seems to be a bit of confusion around the 6 kyu grading at Picton.

What actually happened was that the 6 kyu candidates were all pretty good so they were asked to try for 5 kyu.

What it seems a lot of people thought was the second part of the grading for 6 kyu (the part where the applicants cut motodachi) was actually the 5 kyu grading.

Some of the 6 kyu candidates were so good that they were also asked to try for 4 kyu.

In Australia you can skip from 6 kyu to 4 kyu. The reason for this is that a lot of people do their first grading more than 3 months after they first start training - 6kyu may not be an accurate reflection of their skills.

I hope that clears it up.

Catherine (Sydney Kendo Club)

[Catherine]

Nice photos Andrew. The other photos were also v cool.

Re the number of examiners on the Picton panel - there were only 5. I was lucky enough to be asked to observe (it is good to get some experience before having to sit on a panel :wink: Gradings are important and you don't want to stuff them up!

Catherine

[minjih]

Just want to add to Catherine's comments there on the accurate reflection of a person's level of skill, if he or she had been training for more than 3 months prior to the grading.

It was my observation during the grading in question that some people whom I know personally to have trained continuously for more than a whole full year (or more) prior to the date did not get the grades that reflect their usual level of skill. I would not have believed this was possible, thinking that those persons would have gone from their current level to at least the next or even jump to an even higher one. What I saw, however, was an overt demonstration of nonchalance/over-confidence/dispassion (take your pick!) from these people. Cuts, whether being made in the air against an imaginary target or against a motodachi were inaccurate, lacking in conviction and downright sloppy. As a result, zanshin was in no way apparent.

Neither for that matter, was their desire for a higher grade. Needless to say, they failed. And through no fault of the grading panel either, in my honest opinion.

And so I find myself writing this post. For all you readers out there who may be attempting a kyu grading in the future, please do so in a manner that demonstrates your desire for a higher grade. Put some effort in your cuts, snap your feet up to show good footwork, give good strong kiai with everything you do on the floor, SHOW THOSE ON THE GRADING PANEL THAT YOU DESERVE THE GRADE!!

Do not take for granted that the panel will reward you with a grade just because you have been training/practising/competing in kendo for months or years prior to the grading.

If you don't show that you deserve the grade in those few minutes, it will not be given to you.

[Chopstix]

Excellent comment minjih!

And Catherine - thanks for clearing that up! :)

[Chook]

Yes, I agree Min.
I believe I was worthy of 3rd kyu, not just because the panel gave it to me, but because I feel my kendo has improved since my last grading. If you don't get the grade, respect the panel's decision and try again in 6 months.

Catherine - I suspected as much. The email I got from the NSWKA listed a LOT of 5kyu grades obtained, with only about 4 6kyu out of about 18 candidates.

Oh by the way Min, did you need a copy of that katakana? I've got it here but can email a scan of it...

[Mustrum]

I go for my first grading in may and would really like some helpful advice, also how many women are practicing Kendo here, as I am the only female in my dojo here in Adelaide

[Catherine]

I go for my first grading in may and would really like some helpful advice, also how many women are practicing Kendo here, as I am the only female in my dojo here in Adelaide

Hi Mustrum,

There are about 35 women practising kendo in Australia. One of the best - Hayami Aboutaleb ran the Adelaide club for a long time before going to Melbourne!

We are organising another women's training weekend sometime in the next few months. I will send you the details when they are more settled. It would be great if you could come along and meet us all.

Good luck in your grading.

Catherine (Sydney Kendo Club)

[Mustrum]

Thank you Catherine, I am training at Ito's Juku twice a week and have been training since Jan this yr, slowly I am getting it, trying to mem the first 6 forms in samurai Jitsu is going to be interesting. I would love to know when the training weekend would be as it would be nice to meet fellow female kendo players

[Andoru]

"samurai jitsu"? In Kendo?

[Mustrum]

Yes Jhihan Ito has Us practice after our Kendo training if their is time.

[Mustrum]

Oops for got to ask is it unusual for us to practice "Samurai jitsu"?

[z3ngine]

Oops for got to ask is it unusual for us to practice "Samurai jitsu"?
HI Mustrum! Angus-san here from your dojo :)

There has been discussion/argument on another thread about our samurai jitsu and it is something unique to our club. To summarise, it draws on Iai and is performed with bokken but is as Mustrum explained - an extension only - it has no bearing on our core Kendo training.

Given that its your first grading Mustrum, I would say not to focus too much on the extensions but moreso on your Kendo footwork and good, clean main-strikes (men, kote, dou). The BEST advice however is not to listen to me but ask the Sempais for guidance on doing focussed training at home and pointers for the grading. I wish you good luck also !!

z3ngine.

[Mustrum]

Angus san thank you sent a message :} easier than waiting for thursday night

[tessenn]

I dont see why grading should be a goal of anyone who is truly trying to learn kendo, it is not only about tecnique with the bokken or sword but about honing the power of ones spirit.
if you feel like you have mastered the phisical tecniues that you have been taught then try honing them mentally, anyone can hit and break things but to truly learn a style of martialism a person must live and feel the relationship that those teachings creat in there lives and society as a whole.
please dont take me the wrong way, i have done martial arts and have done a tiny bit of practice with a bokken but i am not as yet a student of kendo, but if you choose to follow any martial art, the phisical side is only ever a small part of what you are really learning, the real lessons and trials you undergo are ones of the spirit.

[Catherine]

Hey Tessenn,

There is a very interesting thread on why gradings are important and how they can help your kendo esp with the mental aspect.

I forget the thread name - but I suggest that you search for it.

Regards,

Catherine