Grading in Iaido.

[seibei]

For 8th to 2nd Kyu, the grading exams are the responsibility of local dojos. Since i dont practice in a dojo because there are none teaching iaido in my country, i will have to go abroad for grading ( See thread "Would you help me, please" in the Iaido section for more info) Though the Kyu grading requirements may vary slightly from dojo to dojo, i suppose the main requirements are basically the same.

Can anyone tell me wat are the requirements for each kyu?
Is it possible to skip a Kyu and attempt a higher one?
Is it possible to attempt several kyus during the same examination day?
Is it theoretically possible for someone to attempt ikkyu without going through kyus at all, as far as rules and regulations are concerned?

Thanks.

[h2o]

I think this depends on your federation, and probably on a national level too.
So you will get a lot of different answers.
In Sweden we start with 4th kyu, but you can't skip grades and have to through them all.

[seibei]

I think this depends on your federation, and probably on a national level too.
So you will get a lot of different answers.
In Sweden we start with 4th kyu, but you can't skip grades and have to through them all.

so kyu grades are compulsory then?

[h2o]

so kyu grades are compulsory then?

On the contrary. They are mandatory.
If you want to get to 1 dan you have to go through 4,3,2 and 1 kyu first. With three months between them. So you can't take shodan in less than a year.

[seibei]

... but you can't skip grades and have to through them all.

u cant skip them, but can you attempt several on the same grading day?

[Ric Flinn]

Yes, it depends. The first time I ever graded it was for ikkyu, and it was a simple pass-fail basis. Typically for a national kyu grading here in the USA, they will look at your performance and award you the kyu rank you deserve, and all people challenging a kyu rank are tested simultaneously. Maybe you get sankyu, maybe ikkyu. But you have to pass ikkyu before moving on to a dan grading.

As for test criteria, the test is very similar no matter what rank you're challenging: Opening reiho, 5 or 6 kata, closing reiho. The judges will be looking for different things depending on the rank, of course. For kyu ranks, first and foremost, make sure you really nail the reiho. Make one mistake here and you might as well not even do any kata. Other than that, work on doing the kata smoothly.

I tested for ikkyu after a year and a few months of practice and didn't have much trouble passing. A classmate of mine recently tried after 7 months of practice and was awarded nikyu.

[seibei]

thats interesting Ric. May be you already noticed why i'm asking this question. It would save me a lot of money. For the time being, i'm not sure which federation i'll join. It may be the SAKF. I have also contacted 2 dojos in reunion island so it might also be that i join the Comité National de Kendo(France) instead.

Hope the exam is carried out the same way as in the USA. I'll enquire about that.

H2o, are u graded yet?

[h2o]

H2o, are u graded yet?

No, not yet. The club I train in just recently started training iaido, and the instructor is not yet shodan so she hasn't been able to grade us yet. But she will take shodan in two weeks so there is really no worries

[seibei]

No, not yet. The club I train in just recently started training iaido, and the instructor is not yet shodan so she hasn't been able to grade us yet. But she will take shodan in two weeks so there is really no worries

Is someone allowed to teach even if not yet Dan graded?

[Halcyon]

Seibei. In the U.S., if you haven't been graded before, the highest grade that the panel of judges will usually award you is nikyu. There may be exceptions, of course, but this has been the case at several shinsa that I've attended. And then 6 months later, you're eligible to test for ikkyu.

But under your circumstances, it's not really grading that you should be concerned about, but rather finding a regular source of instruction, since you mentioned that you don't have a local dojo around. This may mean traveling on a regular basis to other cities and finding creative ways to make sure that you're not wandering blindly in the wilderness, so to speak. I know of people who don't have a dojo near them who use video tapes of themselves and mail them back and forth with a sensei for feedback. But again, this is is purely a stop-gap measure and is NOT a substitute for face-to-face instruction. Also, have you thought about putting fliers up at local schools/universities looking for possible instructors visiting from out of the country?

I would urge you to form a personal relationship with some sensei who can give you instruction remotely AND that you can visit now and again, even if it's only a couple of times a year. When you do have that personal relationship, many sensei will also make a commitment to teach you as a matter of personal responsibility. They may even make a long journey to come visit you. But the sensei usually won't do this unless he/she feels that you are his/her student. That's why it's important, I think, to pick someone as YOUR sensei.

[Ric Flinn]

Halcyon is, of course, completely correct. It's good to think ahead, but you've got a lot of steps to get through before you should even think about grading. Only regular face-to-face instruction will prepare you for that. People on a forum can answer basic questions and such, but we just can't yell at you every time you screw it up.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Regarding permission to teach - depends on country. In Canada for example, you need to be at least 5 dan to register a dojo with CKF. As a practical matter, many dojos are registered by sensei as satellite operations - some lower rank leads class on a day to day basis but ultimately technical responsibility lies with the sensei who signed for the club. So he will visit at least once a year, hopefully more often, and maybe the day to day instructors will also visit him to make sure things stay on the straight and narrow.

[seibei]

...But under your circumstances, it's not really grading that you should be concerned about, but rather finding a regular source of instruction, since you mentioned that you don't have a local dojo around...

I totally agree. im enquiring about grading because i still dont know which federation to join, and i want to know how the grading is done according to the rules of different federations, just to have an idea. I might join either the SAKF( South Africa) or the CNK(france). I want to be graded in seitei because i think it will open many doors for me in the future.

...This may mean traveling on a regular basis to other cities...

ya, thats why i'm consideration south africa and reunion island

I would urge you to form a personal relationship with some sensei who can give you instruction remotely AND that you can visit now and again, even if it's only a couple of times a year. When you do have that personal relationship, many sensei will also make a commitment to teach you as a matter of personal responsibility. They may even make a long journey to come visit you. But the sensei usually won't do this unless he/she feels that you are his/her student. That's why it's important, I think, to pick someone as YOUR sensei.

thanks for the advice.

[Peegee]

On our Dojo, the Kyu grading is as follows:

Yonkyu (4th Kyu)

Opening Torei
ZNKR kata 1 - 4
Closing Torei

Sankyu (3rd Kyu)

Torei
ZNKR kata 5 - 8
Torei

Nikyu (2nd Kyu)

Torei
ZNKR kata 9 - 12
Torei

IKKYU (1st kyu) (after training 1 year or more)

Torei
5 ZNKR kata of your choice
Torei

[seibei]

thanks peegee for all these details