Next Standard Belt Testing

 

The fundamental goal of martial training is to increase one's chances of survival. In regards to social interaction and creative development, the skills a martial artist should be developing such as focus, self-control, self-discipline, and personal interaction are necessary to survive in our society. Martial skills are also directly related to ones chances of survival in the realm of violence. Though we hope no one ever has to be in a violent situation, we prefer for anyone in such a situation to have the skills and ability to defend themselves. This is far superior to needing to defend one's self in in a violent situation and not have the skills and ability to do so.

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“It is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war.”

~ A paraphrase of a Chinese proverb

 

Everyone's journey is personal and unique. It is dangerous to compare one's own journey to someone else’s. This is because other people's journey has nothing to do with whether you are reaching your full potential on the journey that is unique to you and your life. At the foundational level of development for any skill, one should be making increases in their ability to apply that skill. This increase in ability and skill will increase one's ability to better survive countless situations.The only way to gage your personal increase in a skill or ability is to compare the You of Today and the You of Yesterday.

 

That said there are static metrics which one can use when evaluating their personal progress and development of skills and abilities. AIK uses the following metrics to help our students better evaluate themselves.

 

Youth Ranks

Ages: 4 to 7

At the youth level, effort is the major metric that is used to assess wether a student is eligible for promotion. If a young child is able to preform the required combinations and techniques at an age appropriate level they will be eligible for the Belt Test and Rank Promotion. This is the foundational requirement because proper effort allows for continued and greater development over time. 

 

Junior & Senior Ranks

Ages: 7 and up

At this level more than effort is needed for reasonable development. Though the differences in age and life experience is taken into account for each individual martial artist, they need to maintain a functional understanding of the self-defense patterns and be able to execute them at a rank appropriate level. In time with more experience the advanced skills can be developed and cultivated resulting in the practitioner being able to preform at a noticeably more exact level of movement, intensity, accuracy, and awareness.

 

To give our students a metric to gage themselves, our instructors provide feed back using the following grading scale.

 

• F - Failed:

The only way a student would get this grade would be from their failure to make any effort to demonstrate the pattern of motion while standing completely still.

 

• R - Relearn:

Student performing action unsatisfactory to receive a passing grade due the the complete inability to recognize what they are doing will receive the ‘R - Relearn’ grade.

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• G - Gross Body Movement Proficiency:

If a student can execute the self-defense patterns at the basic pattern level, demonstrating that pattern in a functional and recognizable manner, they will receive a ‘G - Gross Body Movement Proficiency’ grade. This lets them know they they have the required patterns in place accurately for their respective rank. 

 

Without ‘G - Gross Body Movement Proficiency’  a student can not receive any higher grades regardless of their ‘I - Intensity of Movement’ or ‘A - Awareness of Application, Positioning, and Timing’. 

 

The ‘G - Gross Body Movement Proficiency’ is a reasonable and necessary level of developmental focus for all ranks, but for the beginner levels (White, Yellow, and Orange belts) this is where the majority of their focus and attention should be. Getting this grade for beginner level students is an excellent level of achievement and should be what they strive for.

 

In a less deadly environment this type of performance can be seen in someone willing to learn how to do a new task while giving the effort and attention needed to complete that task even if they are slow and inefficient at doing it.

 

• I - Intensity of Movement:

Building on the retention and refinement of the ‘G - Gross Body Movement Proficiency’, the next reasonable area of development is an increased level of intensity. This is achieved through the refinement of ones ‘G - Gross Body Movement Proficiency’ which allows the individual to develop an increased efficiency in their movement. This increase of ability is often visually perceivable as a proper increase of speed within individual actions from that action's initiation to its conclusion.  

 

Without ‘G - Gross Body Movement Proficiency’ and ‘I - Intensity of Movement’ being in place a student can not receive any higher grades regardless of their ‘A - Awareness of Application, Positioning, and Timing'.

 

It is normal for the intermediate level students (Purple, Blue, and Green Belts) to have major gains in their ‘I - Intensity of Movement’ resulting in a noticeable increase in their capability to survive a violent encounter. 

 

In a less deadly environment this might be seen in someone's ability and willingness to engage in any given task, that they are proficient in performing, with a visible eagerness. 

 

• A - Awareness of Application, Positioning, and Timing:

Once the student has refined their ‘G - Gross Body Movement Proficiency’ and developed an ‘I - Intensity of Movement’, the next reasonable area of development is an increased level of awareness. ‘A - Awareness of Application, Positioning, and Timing’ is an intellectual and analytical capability that lets realtime adaptations and adjustments to be made in response to an evolving situation.

 

Though hard for an inexperienced person to see ‘A - Awareness of Application, Positioning, and Timing’ in the self-defense patterns, an experienced martial artist will intuitively know it it is there.

 

Simple examples of how ‘A - Awareness of Application, Positioning, and Timing’ can be perceived are:

• If the practitioner is looking to scan their environment when covering out. 

• If the practitioner is holding their ground and using borrowed force in a technique where the opponent is falling into the strike instead of shuffling forward and jamming their power range. 

• If the practitioner is waiting the proper amount of time after a strike for it to settle into the opponent to cause them to be in the proper place for the next strike.

 

It is normal for the advanced level students (Brown and Black Belts) to have major gains in their ‘A - Awareness of Application, Positioning, and Timing’ resulting in a tangible increase in their capability to survive a violent encounter. 

 

In a less deadly environment this might be seen in someone's ability to present information during a speech or while teaching with exceptional ability. It manifests its presence through the practitioner's ability to maintaining the attention and interest of the people they are addressing. When the presentation is done with exceptional skill, then that information being presented is received and retained more efficiently due the presenters awareness of how to most effectively communicate with their audience.