Gradings

General Notes on Gradings

Whenever the syllabus states that something is ‘to be done x times’, this means that it will be performed repeatedly in order to show consistency of efficacy. In higher grades, more variety of technique is expected to be demonstrated by the student. For the highest grades, out of x demonstrations, x different methods will be expected to demonstrate true depth of understanding.

During a grading, the student is not allowed to communicate with their peers. Gradings are conducted entirely under examination conditions. Questions are allowed, but may not always be answered if doing so would affect the integrity of the grading. In order to speak, a student must silently raise their hand and await acknowledgement. Every entry in the syllabus will be tested and marked individually and may also be examined in other activities and drills. Please note that some foundational elements of the syllabus may have already been assessed in previous training sessions before the date of the grading. (In these cases, the high pass mark for all assessed points will have been secured before being put forward for the grading.)

The statement ‘All previous points, and general improvement, in addition to:’ at the beginning of each section means that points from previous gradings may feature in the grading, as it is expected that previous training will be retained and improved upon over time. These points may be tested in different ways than they were in previous gradings. Different forms of sparring also feature in gradings, increasing in intensity and complexity as the student progresses. More information can be found on the Sparring page.

Junior and Senior Gradings

Junior (11-15) and senior (16+) gradings are treated as equal, as regardless of age students have the same expectations when it comes to grading. However, there is no junior Black Sash in our system. A junior Gaoji Todai must await their sixteenth birthday to undertake their grading to become Zhongji Todai. This is due to the extremely demanding nature of the grading process at that level and of the training thereafter.

Assessment

During a grading, each entry on the syllabus is assessed, and judged to be either a high pass, a low pass or a failure to pass for that criterion. This performance is checked against the criteria for that grading and a percentage is generated to represent the student’s success rate. The pass mark is 81% for all gradings.

Feedback and Reassessment

Whether a student passes or fails a grading, they are given verbal feedback on the day, followed by detailed written feedback on their performance. In the event of a pass, this informs their continued practice as they progress towards their next grading. In the event of a failure to pass, this informs their continued practice as they work on their areas for development in order to reattempt the grading. We do not charge for the first reattempt – we would only charge for subsequent reattempts in the event of failing to pass twice. Please note that this is at the instructor’s discretion, and in the event of failure to pass due to misconduct then we reserve the right to withhold this offer of a free retest.

For information on pricing for different gradings, please see our pricing and membership options page.

For information on our syllabus, please see our syllabus page.