Help! grading soon

[Commander]

Im going for my Ikkyu on Oct, but i've never graded before. Do you know what i can expect? Will i be doing it with a group of people at the same time or on my own. Just need some general infor on what to expect.


Thanks

[KhawMengLee]

For the keiko:

Strong Kirikaeshi. Cut with intent and accuracy. Strong Kiai! Most people are nervous and tend not to kiai loud enough.

In the shiai try not to block and spend more of that energy attacking. What they want to see is good basics. A nice MEN cut is all you need. Remember, good footwork, big cuts, straight back, a good hit and strong kiai. Don't forget zanshin.

Try not to go for anything to complicated, just a nice strong MEN or maybe kote men.

For the Kata:

Remember your footwork! Especially for Uchidachi for kata no3. Practice your kata because they will fail you if you screw up the footwork.

If you screw up they'll let you have a few more goes(usually 2 chances).

[GMason]

Is it just help on the format you need ???

i.e where to stand etc ????

[Commander]

Is it just help on the format you need ???

i.e where to stand etc ????

Everything, im a real n00b with gradings :(

[GMason]

Hi this an email I wrote for one of my beginners to help with the format of the BKA gradings..... (changed a bit for you)

OK you will probably know what is needed but the format is this.....

The advise I gave to my guys who where taking the grading for the first time.... Check you hakama etc..... make sure you are all done up properly.... get someone else to check you !!! check the other people in your group..... there is nothing worse than having to stop half way through a grading and re-tie something or having what looks like a ducks arse sticking out the back of your men ???

Kirikieshi/Fencing

You will be in groups of five probably... that is usually how it is set out at BKA gradings (It was at the last grading watchet where I helped out at)

Number one goes on first to recieve kirikieshi and two does the cutting..... as shown in my nice little diagram below :-)


1 2345

Then a short fence.... do your best.... men cut etc.... you will get so much advise on this so I won't bother. Then finish... one goes to the back and two goes across to where one was.....and same again kirikieshi

2 3451

Then a short fence.... do your best.... men cut etc......Then finish... This time two goes to the back of the queue but has finished the shinai part of the grading as two should now have done both side of kirikieshi and fenced twice.

3 451

Then so on and so on

4 51

and again

5 1

Now number one comes back in and finshes the shinai part of the grading.....

just some extra advice..... for the shinai section

Watch what happens in the groups that go on before you and get it straight in your mind...... so you at least look like you know what you are doing even if in reality your mind is saying arrrgggghhh get me out of here !!!!. When you change sides.... there is no need to run across infront of the panel.... just walk quickly and naturaly try and keep dignity and and air of confidence as if to say... yep I know what I am doing.....

Also one last thing about where you stand etc..... once you have finished kirikieshi go back to where you started.... when you finish fencing go back to where you started.... again there is nothing worse than watching someone take a grading for the first time, finish the grading and then stand at the wrong side.... whilst the floor manager tells him where to stand and the guy having a blank look on his face as if to say what do you mean. (with it being Ikkyu you are going for the panel should cut you some slack... but if you can get all of the above right with no problems... it should hopefully give you that extra edge !!)


Kata

Now depending on how many people are testing, and when I graded at mumeishi last year..... there where about 100 Ikkyu's. Sometimes they will get everyone to do the Kata or if there are alot they will just ask the ones who passed the shinai section back to do the kata. Like I said I guess it will be the later as there will be a lot of people grading.

This advice is pretty much the same. If you can watch the people that go on before you.... so you can get the procedure right in your head. You will go out in pairs obviously :-) and then they will tell you which side is which...... Then the floor Manager will shout out ipponme you take kamae and then he/she will shout hajime and off you go... finish number one and then back to the beginning..... Then the floor manager will call out nihonme and off you go again.... this is the same for all the three kata you need to do. When you finsh the last Kata sonkyo..... (again try to look confident at this point.... you will see alot of people sort of trying to look across at other people to see if they should sonkyo..... then go back to where you started.... if you have to do them again they will ask you at the end.... if you do have to do them again don't panic.... you probably haven't failed yet.... they usually give you more than one chance.....

If you make a mistake.... you can stop and put your hand up there and then ..... they will then ask you to do it again... but bear in mind I have only ever been told this and have never done it. So I would check with Gerry or someone, just to double check this bit

I hope this helps..... :-)

[Commander]

Cheers for your advice! :D

[GMason]

I hope it helps good luck !!

[Commander]

I hope i do pass but i have quite low confidence when it comes to grading. I just have my doubts about myself

[Neil Gendzwill]

Watch what happens in the groups that go on before you and get it straight in your mind......
This is good advice, seldom followed. I've acted as tachi-ai (the traffic director guy) a bunch of times, and I don't know how many times people have made the exact same mistakes as the previous group. If tachi-ai says to someone "go here, not there" or "toes on the line" etc, then make sure to not make those mistakes.

As for technical advice: for kiri-kaeshi, slow and correct is the way to go. Most ikkyu candidates could stand going about half the speed they're at. If you can't get your left hand over your head on the backswing, slow down.

For keiko, stick to basics. No tsuki, no gyaku-doh, no hiki-waza. Try to avoid getting tangled up in the middle. Lots of big straight men, a few kote, doh only if you see an actual chance. Lots of kiai, lots of energy. Don't block, don't worry about getting hit. You can "lose" and still pass. Sometimes at ikkyu there's a big skill discrepency but the judges are looking for a minimum standard, so if you are up against someone who clearly should have graded long before don't sweat it, the panel will see what is happening.

For kata, so long as you know the form of the kata (which foot goes where, etc) you'll pass ikkyu. Deeper performance issues are for higher grades. If you make a small mistake, keep going. If your partner screws up, keep going. If either of you get lost or make such a big mistake that you can't continue, they may let you repeat that kata, depends on the committee.

[Anime12478]

While I can't say anything for personal experience since I should be going for my ikkyu later this year if everything goes great.

What I am doing is reading up on everything. I look at shiai rules, shimpan rules, reviewing on how to put on the kendo-gi and bogu and reviewing certain terms. What I want to do is be prepared by knowing the small details so I get in there and know exactly what is going on.

As far as shiai goes, they say that they don't grade on whether or not you got a score, but if you showed great Kendo. So once I get back to school (where the kendo is at) I plan on doing my best to concentrate on the smallest details of my technique and do a little cross training so I can last longer.

[Commander]

Would they ask to look at the way i've tied my hakama or ask my to put together my shinai?

[Neil Gendzwill]

Would they ask to look at the way i've tied my hakama or ask my to put together my shinai?
They won't ask you to put a shinai together. However, you should have all your gear neat, clean and tied properly. They won't go down the line inspecting each knot (or at least, I've never seen that) but they can see when someone is sloppy just fine from the judges' table.

[Commander]

They won't ask you to put a shinai together. However, you should have all your gear neat, clean and tied properly. They won't go down the line inspecting each knot (or at least, I've never seen that) but they can see when someone is sloppy just fine from the judges' table.

So to start with you just wear keikogi and hakama, no tare?

[joekc6nlx]

You will be wearing tare, that's so they can write your number on the odare. More than likely, as stated above, they will have shiai first, then those who pass shiai will go on to do kata.

If I may be so bold (since I'm going up for promotion next month, too), think of this as another keiko. Your sensei watches you at keiko, whether you realize it or not, so just focus on your opponent, (enzan no metsuke), and once you start, you probably will not even notice the panel.

[Commander]

Ah okie dokie, i was just wondering because i cant tie my hakama the "right" way :redface:

[nodachi]

I hope i do pass but i have quite low confidence when it comes to grading. I just have my doubts about myself

When doing the keiko part, be aggressive and have a big kiai. If you are nervous, a nice big kiai helps to get the jitters out. At least it really helps for me. Try to have good form, and have lots of spirit. Don't be passive. Just go out there, give it your all, and if you pass, great. If not, try again next time. All you can do is your best. If it isn't good enough, you can always retest so don't add unnecessary stress on yourself and think that you MUST succeed or terrible bad things will happen. If you can find a way to take some of that pressure off of yourself, I am pretty sure you will do better than if you are tense and nervous. The atmosphere will feel very tense at your first grading, but after going to more of them, it doesn't feel so bad. Yes, many judges are watching, but when it is time to show your stuff, there is only you and your partner out there and no one else. Focus on that. So remember that most of the pressure you are feeling is coming from yourself. Conquer that, and you will do fine.

[Commander]

Ok, i feel a bit of relief now. :)

Is there a big crowd of people watching?

[nodachi]

Maybe. Depends on how the grading is structured. One grading I went to was run like this: one court, 100 people sitting waiting for their turn, two people keiko at a time, every one else watches.

Other times when the weather is good, they make batches. Ikkyu testers inside, everyone else out. Then bring in the next batch, shodan in, everyone else out...

So you could very well have tons of people watching. That is why you need to focus on you and your partner only. They are the only ones that matter. If you are concerned about looking good for everyone else, your mind is already not focused on the task at hand. Remember there are only two people in the whole place when it is your turn.

[Commander]

When waiting is everyone wearing full bogu?

[nodachi]

They are wearing tare and doh. You only put on the rest when you know that your turn is about to come up. Otherwise, that is a long time to sit around with all the gear on, but not really do anything.

[Katonk]

Also important to keep in mind is that this is not really a shiai in the tournament sense. There are no points awarded for a good hit. Make sure you use good kihon during your shiai. During a tournament shiai, you're probably resorting to different tricks to open up your opponent's suki, but that's not what they're looking for in gradings. Work your opponent, but only strike with good kihon.

The other think you might want to keep in mind. This is your first grading, and you're already going for 1 kyu - not bad if your sensei thinks you're already at that level. But if things don't go quite right, the worse thing that can happen is you're awarded 2-kyu. Still not bad considering you're still very new to kendo.

Most kids start at no better than 6 kyu.

[Commander]

Can i get awarded 2kyu if i fail the Ikkyu?

[sjp]

Can i get awarded 2kyu if i fail the Ikkyu?

NO
This is a examination for Ikkyu to Yondan. You apply to test for the applicable grade and either pass or fail.
If you want to do other kyu grades ie 7 - 2 then you attend one of the Kyusha seminars/gradings.

[PhilMcLaughlin]

Ah okie dokie, i was just wondering because i cant tie my hakama the "right" way :redface:

You have 2 months to learn ! - how hard can it be ??

at Ikkyu small isues about kit tend to be overlooked but are noticed by the panel

At Watchet this year where I was tachi - ai I saw about 50% of candidates with poor kit ranging from hakama too long / short, himo not tied right, tenegui flapping about to a shinai with a torn tsukagawa. Shinai with nakayui in the wrong place were very common


I wouldnt have believed it becase id spent the hour before exhorting (well shouting at) folks to check their kit

(And then there was a glut of web whinging because the pass rate was low !)

Your kit should be A1 (because it should be A1 all the time) you will need to sign in & youll get stick on numbers (bogu friendly BKA :-) for your tare whcih should have the zekken removed

Assuming youre having a go at Lidstone the day before its doubly important to check your shinai(s)



For ikkyu

Kiri kaeshi is the most important bit (my opinion) - demonstrate good ki ken tai ichi in you kiri kaeshi & youre almost there - as neil said do it slower & as correctly as you can

Good strong, brave attacks in keiko - have no thought about winning or losing youre looking to demonstrate that you can cut men / kote - theyre not looking for you to understand opportunity etc, Big kiai, big attack

Gradings are a text of character under pressure as well as skill - none of us know if were going to pass our next grade or not until we show up and do it

im sure youll be fine

anyway good luck

[Commander]

Thanks for the vote of confidence :) I'll just have to wait and see.

As for hakama, i can tie proper its just the knot at the final part at the front, i cant do it right. :(

[PhilMcLaughlin]

Thanks for the vote of confidence :) I'll just have to wait and see.

As for hakama, i can tie proper its just the knot at the final part at the front, i cant do it right. :(

BKA standard is a reef knot (right over left left over right)
with the ends tucked away neatly

there is a more formal finish that ends up in a cross but its not used for Kendo as youre covered by tare at all times

[Commander]

Do you have a diagram? lol

[Neil Gendzwill]

You should be able to find it here (http://www6.big.or.jp/~budogu/manu/topm.html).

[LNGUYEN]

Commander,

Get yourself a RBSO bogu and you will pass it. Just kidding.

Don't worry too much or you will get yourself nervous. If you have a good strong basics, you will pass. I have never seen anyone not passing Ikkyu. You see that most of the advices here from others, you already know them since beginning like taking care of shinai, appearance, bogu, raising left arm, etc... and good luck.

[LarsCW]

Keep in mind that your sensei told you that you were ready for this so just have faith and confidence in his judgement and even more in yourself.

Good luck on your grading

[Veren]

I'm not yet up to testing for ikkyu yet, so take this with a grain of salt, but back in my college tutoring days, I ran across several students who knew the material but would still do poorly on tests. So a lot of my tutoring time with them was spent trying to break this "testing nervousness".

So hopefully some things that helped them will help you. A few things to think about:

#1 You know all the things you need to in order to pass your test. Otherwise, your sensei wouldn't have given you a thumbs up on going for ikkyu. That being said, if you go in and perform your kendo as you normally do, you'll pass.

#2 Think of the "test" not that you are "testing", but that you are demonstrating what you know. Let's face it: if your sensei could be your judge, you'd have the rank. Of course, in order to get your rank, you have to demonstrate what you know to complete strangers. So here's your opportunity. You know all the stuff that you need to in order to get the rank (see #1, above. :) ) Now you just have to do it, not by "testing" but by "demonstrating".

#3: Finally, when you do go for ikkyu, good luck! You have everything you need to pass, but a little extra luck never hurts! :)

Watashi no ni yen.

[Commander]

Thanks guys, makes me feel better :)

[Chook]

This is great advice. I'm going for my ikkyu in two weeks, and although I've done lots of gradings before this, it's always the same old thing... Stress Stress Stress. My best advice is you're there to demonstrate what you know, not win a tournament. Good, clean, straight kendo. At least that's MY plan. :)