Posts Tagged ‘Belt Test’
We have a belt test coming up next week here at ward’s Family Karate in Colorado Springs . You want to make sure that you have your forth (green) stripe in order to test. The belt test is Monday and Tuesday (2/15 and 2/16). If you still do not have your green stripe you can get it on Monday and then test on Tuesday. Make sure that you know your self-defenses and one-steps and are ready to put on a good show.
On Saturday the 13th we have another test taking place. The Black Belt Pre-Test. This will occur at the Family Karate Center at 1:00 PM, and will be a 2 hour test. All brown belts are eligible to take this test, and I highly encourage them to do so. This is a chance for our brown belts to get a look at what the black belt test will be like.
This year we have one of our brown belts testing for acceptance into the candidate training for the Black Belt test. This is our own Keri Myers, a 6th Brown. If Keri shows well in the pre-test on Saturday she may begin six grueling weeks of training to prepare for the black belt test next month. Good luck Keri!
Is she ready for black belt? We will find out on
I know you would probably like to come and watch the test and cheer Keri on, however only Brown belts and above or family members of those testing may attend. The same goes for the black belt test. I even remember a day when all the windows in the dojo would be blacked out so no passer by could see what we were doing. Karate to this day has a bit of secrecy. Besides we don’t want some passer by to see what is going on and call 911! Along the same lines I was just telling a parent that I do not allow my students to show there skills to outsiders. It is Ok for a student to allow some one to know that they training in karate but they are not to demonstrate karate to them. That is just for our dojo, your private practice and for self defense. Like I teach my students about a knife. A blade should never be used to intimidate or warn someone off. A blade should only appear with an immediate strike.
For the black belts the most important thing is our time honored tradition of the Black Belt Spaghetti Lunch at 12:00 on Saturday. Sorry this is for black belts only. As we say “What time is the pre-test? Who cares, but lunch is at noon.”
Sincerely,
Scott Ward, Sensei
Ward’s Family Karate, LLC
Providing the finest training in Karate and Martial Arts in Colorado Springs.
Colorado Springs martial arts: http://www.wardsfamilykarate.com/colorado-springs-martial-arts/
Web site: www.WardFamilyKarate.com
Email: scott.ward@wardsfamilykarate.com
Blog: www.wardsfamilykarate.blogspot.com
I had an interesting Saturday morning. We have a great dojo at Ward’s Family Karate in Colorado Springs, but sometimes it is the company not the location. It’s great to get together with other black belts and have a good, sweaty workout. Unfortunately it did work out quite that way.
I knew something felt funny as I was getting in my gi (karate uniform) this morning. Then I got out to the mat and started stretching. Sure enough something was wrong with my back. This would have been of little surprise if I had been sparred last night. However, I just enjoying a night of watching sparring matches.
Back to the workout. I took it slow but joined in with the circle of black belts and began Kihon.
We do an exercise called Kihon Rinchu. Its a fantastic Karate workout that starts with a warm up, builds to an intense dynamic kicking and punching Kihon and ends with a nice cool down. I can’t wait to teach Kihon Rinchu to our up and coming black belt. It is one of my favorite ways to train.
Well bending at the waist was not very comfortable today. I did do a set of Chinese push ups, but besides that I refrained from any of the bending exercises.
It still managed to be a fairly sweaty workout. So even when you are not at the top of your game, karate allows you to get a good workout by carefully arranging the drills and techniques that you do.
After about a 45 minute workout we got ready fort he gather kyu belts that had come in for their belt test review.
So next I spent a hour and half training a half a dozen kyu belts in a complete review for their up coming belt test next week. To bad non of my students were there. It would of been a great extra training section for them. Black belts were spread out over the mat, each with their own group of students to work with. J.B. had a group of white belts that he was working with.
While I normally do my teaching in my own dojo it is nice to be able to give back to the karate community in general (I think Kyoshi Haynes really appreciated the help). We did that last week also as we acted as referees and officials at the invitational karate tournament.
So what’s the moral of the story. You can always find a way to workout and practice. So not excuses! Also don’t neglect giving back to the community. It helps make this a better world.
Sincerely,
Scott Ward, Sensei
Ward’s Family Karate, LLC
Providing the finest training in Karate and Martial Arts in Colorado Springs.
Colorado Springs martial arts: http://www.wardsfamilykarate.com/colorado-springs-martial-arts/
Web site: www.WardFamilyKarate.com
Email: scott.ward@wardsfamilykarate.com
Blog: www.wardsfamilykarate.blogspot.comit
I wanted to take this opportunity to clarify how our stripe system works here at Ward’s Family Karate in Colorado Springs. Specifically I wanted to talk about our Green Stripe the review stripe. We use a four stripe system. the first three stripes cover the skills that students need to test for their next belt. The green stripe signifies that the student is ready to test. Therefore you can not test without a green stripe.
I set aside one week of class for reviewing students for green stripe. Each student will need to come in twice in order to earn their green stripe. So do a Monday and a Wednesday or a Tuesday and a Thursday and you should be OK.
Now lets discuss what is expected on the review week. You should be thinking of the review week as your test. You would not go into your school on a test day, sit down to take the test and start asking the instructor basic questions about the material in the test. Well review week is not a time to be asking questions (not if you intend on testing the next week). You are there to show me how much you know! I will be watching you and all of the rest of the class to determine who is ready to test.
Don’t ever be afraid to as a question. Yes that may mean you are not ready to test. But you will have proven that to yourself if you are needing to ask how to do some technique just a week before the test. I don’t mind if you are asking for a correction or refinement on a technique. What I don’t want to hear is someone asking “What are my five self defenses?” or “I don’t remember what number two is”. That just shows me that you have not been practicing enough and you really need to spend another cycle learning the material.
If you know your are not testing please ask all the questions you want. This is a review for you to. however, for you it is a review to help you learn the material. Even if you know it by the end of the class, it is probably not a good idea for you to go into the belt test. If you want to come in the very next night and show me the same techiques, well then I might accept it, if you do a good job.
I will be more lenient with our beginner students. That is white belt through orange belt. By the time you reach the advanced class I want you to know your new material well and remember all of your previous material. This may sound like I am being very hard on my students, but I am doing for your own good.
Class changes when you reach brown belt. You will only have one belt cycle to learn what I am teaching. Then with the new belt cycle I will introduce new material and will not teach the previous material until it comes around again in about 9 months. At brown belt I will expect you to show me all of your lower belt techniques at any or all of your belt test. So as I said, I am being hard on you for your own good. I don’t want you having to play catch up at this rank. It’s just better to learn it all now.
So don’t be upset with me if I deny you your green stripe. Karate has always been about earn rewards not about being given things that you do not deserve.
When you come in with your green stripe on your belt to take your test you should not be hesitating or looking confused about what to do. You should be giving all of us a great show of your ability.
I look forwards to seeing you in your next test, and I look forward to seeing you in your future black belt test.
Work hard in class. Practice often at home. Be proud of what you have accomplished.
Sincerely,
Scott Ward, Sensei
Ward’s Family Karate, LLC
Providing the finest training in Karate and Martial Arts in Colorado Springs.
Web site: www.WardFamilyKarate.com
Email: scott.ward@wardsfamilykarate.com
Blog: www.wardsfamilykarate.blogspot.com
Since we have had some bad weather and this is cutting into our review I have decide to move the test date back. So the Belt test at Ward’s Family Karate in Colorado Springs will be held on Wednesday the 16th and Thursday the 17th.
Sincerely,
Scott Ward, Sensei
Ward’s Family Karate, LLC
Providing the finest training in Karate and Martial Arts in Colorado Springs.
Web site: www.WardFamilyKarate.com
Email: scott.ward@wardsfamilykarate.com
Blog: www.wardsfamilykarate.blogspot.com