Written examinations...?

[Pan-Chan]

Hello, I havn't bewen on here for a while;school has kept me busy. But anyways, here is my question.

Are the the topics of the written portions of rank examinations randomly selected, or is there a set topic for each level?

My dojo is having a shinza at the end of the month and I am a little curious. Thank you for whatever you can tell me! :D

[ScottUK]

Every association is different. Here's a few from the British Kendo Association:

http://www.kendo.org.uk/grading/kendo/watchetgrading06.shtml

[Taisaburo]

For the most part, the United States has set essays for each rank... depending on which level, not entirely sure. Although, I do know that for Ikkyu it's 'Describe The Benefits of Kirikaeshi' and Shodan is 'Describe Ki Ken Tai no Ichi'.

[samurai999]

Ours has pretty open (maybe vague) topics. What is seme is one... But yes, it is different from fed to fed. Some feds recycle their questions.... Usually written exams are required from 1kyu and up..

Tim

[Paikea]

Hello, I havn't bewen on here for a while;school has kept me busy. But anyways, here is my question.

Are the the topics of the written portions of rank examinations randomly selected, or is there a set topic for each level?

My dojo is having a shinza at the end of the month and I am a little curious. Thank you for whatever you can tell me! :DEverything you need to know is here (http://www.auskf.info/main/study.htm).

[Curtis]

The AUSKF has a standard set of questions for 1 kyu to 6 dan that all regional federations are supposed to use. 7 dan is an essay. I have the full set of the most recent regulations and questions.

You will receive your question just prior to the test if you are testing for 1 kyu or above.

[Pan-Chan]

Ah I see. That is what I was thinking it might be like, different for each federation.

Thank you everyone for your responses and links, they helped a lot.

:D

[Kitsune]

How about the written examinations for Kyuu (I think that's how you write it)

[Pan-Chan]

How about the written examinations for Kyuu (I think that's how you write it)

Unless you are testing for ikkyu(first kyu) there isn't a written portion of the examination for kyu levels. The links that were listed on this thread previously show the current testing requirements for the AUSKF.

[Navyguy]

Pan-Chan

Just stealing the thread for a moment. I am going to be in Whitehorse for the summer and was thinking of travelling to Anchorage for practice if time permits. Could you please provide contact information and any information on if your club will be practicing during the summer.

Cheers

[thirdegreesidek]

I was just wondering why there isnt any formal written examination for kyu?

[DarQik]

I don't think there is a written portion until 1st kyu, but I really don't know yet (hopefully later this year I can answer with experience). In any case, it will be a while... You can read more at http://www.kendo-usa.org/rank.htm

[nodachi]

Kyus can be moved through fairly quickly, unless you are a kid who is stuck going through the age limit wait periods. There isn't enough time in between kyus to learn the answers to what questions might be asked. Well... you could force people to study, but they wouldn't be learning naturally since they would only be preparing for the exam and not learning the kendo stuff at the more natural pace through training... I think it would end up being more like a vocabulary test if this was implemented...

[crosshair]

Slightly off topic. Is the test for 1Kyu offered in english if you are living in Japan.

[Kenshi]

Slightly off topic. Is the test for 1Kyu offered in english if you are living in Japan.

depends on your local association. and i mean local, not the hokkaido one. in some dojos you dont need to sit a test for 1 kyu if you are an adult, they will just give it to you.

instead of asking here, ask your sensei/sempai.

[Chris R]

Crosshair as far as I know. They dont offer the testing in English,but this could vary per federation. If your a member of a dojo here in Japan this wont be a probelm........As Nodachi said most adults dont go though the kyu grades here except for 1kyu.
I have been a member of my dojo in Tokyo for five years now. All of the written tests have been in Japanese, but my Sensei always gave me the test questions and the answers written in kanji about one month before the test.I would then copy this in kanji in my own hand writing. During my test for 1kyu,sho-dan and ni-dan we just handed in the written test after we passed kei-ko and kata and paid the testing fee............Things changed a little during my test for san-dan they actually took the written test at first and graded them while we did the kei-ko and kata.
I also noticed that ZNKR has changed their menjo. They are actually very nice now. The one I got for san-dan was very bright yellow and very heavy.

[crosshair]

Well thanks for the info. My sensei speaks very little English and I speak very little Japanese. So it’s been a little difficult at times. I need to learn speak better but just short on time to take lessons.

[Nokori 3byo]

This is slightly off topic, but I did my shodan test in iaido yesterday. Curiously, the questions were the same for 1-5dan. Even more curiously, my sensei appeared by my side 20 minutes into the test and started to feed me answers in full view of the judges!

That's about all it took to convince me that written tests are little more than a formality here. I was even told that it was OK for me to write my answers in English, though in the end I opted for Japanese.

[Nukitsuke]

@Chris R. I think that the menjo certificates vary for the level of dan you have. We often compared the different certificates as the sensei passed them out. They do get a bit more elaborate as your dan level increases. There's added scrolling, more writing, and a bit heavier paper as you mentioned. I wonder what the next one will look like?

@Nokori, I found the questions different for all of my tests. Shodan was identifying different parts of the katana, and inputting some key words in pre-arranged sentences - basically memorization. 2dan was writing about 1 of 3 concepts found in the katas. 3dan was more about the traditional philosophy and concepts of iaido (and kendo). I was strongly encouraged to take these tests and answer in Japanese, which I did. It was a lot of preparation, but I think helped me to understand more about iaido.

I'm a bit worried about my 4dan test in August. It's supposed to be very specific about more advanced topics of iaido - I haven't got the specifics yet, but my sensei said that because of the difficulty it would probably be okay to write in English (there are some judges in our region who speak English well).

I'm surprised that your sensei was allowed to coach you. I guess maybe your regional group is a bit more lax on the 1qyu and 1dan levels? I wish you luck next year in your 2dan test as well!

[Nokori 3byo]

I was strongly encouraged to take these tests and answer in Japanese, which I did. It was a lot of preparation, but I think helped me to understand more about iaido.



Not to mention more about Japanese. I learned such useful phrases as 必殺の一撃　and everyday kanji like 袈裟切り.

[Nokori 3byo]

double post. whoops...