Gradings - It’s better to be last than worst

Demonstrate your form at gradings, not your speed

Over the years, I’ve attended about 100 gradings, and I’ve seen dozens of people fail.

I’ve seen people fail for having a bad attitude, and I’ve seen people fail for being lazy, but the number one reason why people fail is poor technique – usually during kata. But there are two things I have never, ever seen anyone fail for – going too slowly, and not kicking high enough.

I know that many of you think that high kicks means high effort, but it’s the technique that comes first. A grading is the time for you to show your actual abilities, not try something new at the expense of form.  Of course, you should be pushing yourself at a grading, but the smart martial artist is not the one who trains hardest, but the one who trains intelligently.  If you train 200% through the basics, but then you’re a useless heap of jelly for your kata, you’re going to fail. It’s just like a real fight – there’s no point blowing all your energy in the first few seconds unless you can defeat your opponent in that time. You may need to pace yourself.

When you’re doing your kata at a grading, your adrenaline will be pumping, and you’ll think you’re moving slower than you actually are. Unless you are grading on your own and have practiced at fast speed, a grading is not the time to push your speed, especially if those around you are slower. Your form will suffer, your balance will be worse, and you’ll look worse than you actually are. I always advise my students to force themselves to go slowly. Even when the pace is faster than they are moving, if they aren’t comfortable at that pace, unless the sensei running the grading specifically orders them to keep up,  they must force themselves to stay at the pace where they can best demonstrate their abilities.

Karate IS for everyone, but part of ensuring that you still get something out of it as you get older, is to ensure that you adapt it to your body. Of course, you still want to push yourself to greater speed and ability, and the time to do that, is in class. Gradings are for showing your attitude and your current abilities.