|
Different judo organisations have different syllabi and different grading regimes; however, here we are concerned with grading within the British Judo Association (BJA). Presently there is a system of grading for junior players, under 14, and senior players over the age of 14. The minimum age that a player can grade at is 5 years old, with the maximum grade at 8 years old being 6th Mon. Judoka can seek promotion to the senior syllabus at the age of 14. Within the BJA there are 18 Mon grades, which are awarded to junior players. These grades are based on technical knowledge and understanding, together with Japanese terminology and some supplementary knowledge. Currently there is no contest requirement within the Mon syllabus; however, there is a progressively structured randori (non-contest fighting) element at higher grades. The 18 Mon grades consist of 6 different belts: red, yellow, orange, green, blue and brown, with each belt being sub-divided into 3 tags. For all belts, apart from red, the tags are red in colour. For the red belt the tags are yellow, due to the clash of colour. Up to and including 9th Mon the grading will take place within the judoka's club. After 9th Mon, players can continue to grade within their club or choose to grade at another club, an area promotion examination or at any other technical judo event.
The senior syllabus runs along similar lines to the junior syllabus; however, the grades are known as Kyu instead of Mon. Within the BJA there are 6 Kyu grades, going from red to yellow, orange, green, blue, and brown. A red belt is commonly referred to as 6th Kyu, while the brown belt is known as 1st Kyu. All promotion to 1st Kyu is based on technical knowledge, understanding and knowledge of Japanese terminology. There is no competition element to Kyu grading. The progression from 1st Kyu to 1st Dan is based both on technical knowledge and judo competition. There are two methods of gaining promotion via competition. The first is to attend a Dan grading, where judoka compete against other 1st Kyus hoping to gain promotion. At these grading events every judoka is given at least 2 fights, both of which need to be won by full ippon. If one fight is won and another not, then a third fight is offered. Should the judoka win two fights by the required ippons, then he/she will progress to a line-up. Failure to win two fights will qualify the losing judoka for a spot in a line-up. In a line-up a judoka will face three more 1st Kyu judokas with no rest between fights. To secure a grade of 1st Dan, the judoka must beat all three opponents by full ippon. Failure to do so will result in the judoka not being promoted to 1st Dan. While this may seem like a harsh system, there is another way to gain your black belt. Every time a fight is won against a fellow 1st Kyu or Dan grade, either at a grading event, or at a points scoring competition, 10 points are gained towards a black belt. Judoka can accumulate 100 points by winning 10 bouts spread out over any period of time and thus qualify for the grade of 1st Dan. Points are also awarded if you beat a judoka while being part of their line-up. No points are gained for draws or losses. The same method is used for qualification from 2nd Dan to 5th Dan. Beyond this, grading is awarded on merit for services to judo.
Judoka aiming for their black belt can attend one area grading per calendar month and one national grading per calendar month.
Everything Judo is a brand new judo based website aimed at bringing judo fanatics all they need to compete in the sport of judo
|
