Members
Gradings
Members
Gradings
Gradings are held every 3 months for Tiny Tigers and Junior and Adult Karate from White Belts to Brown & White Belts.
Dates for these are available to view on our Calendar along with information of times and venues (please note, dates are subject to change).
On the build up to the grading date, the instructors will be looking closely at each student to ensure they are meeting the required standard.
Your instructor will indicate to you if they feel you are ready to grade or making the correct progress towards your grading.
They will advise you if you may need to train extra classes or if you are not quite ready yet to grade. Weekly classes rotate between Kihon (basics), Kata (form) and Kumite (sparring) but all three are practised the week before the gradings at every session.
Karate Gradings
You have the choice to grade either physically at The Dojo Norwich or in a Private Grading.
We hold gradings every 3 months in March, June, September and December. Dates for our gradings are available to view on our Events Calendar.
Private gradings can be booked throughout the grading month with Jason Sensei, Nathan Sensei, or Dave Sensei (subject to availability). The private grading is completed within a personal tuition session with the instructor.
Each student has the choice to attend a physical grading or grade privately. You will either book your grading through our Events Calendar or by emailing the office for private gradings.
Grading fees cover the entire cost of the physical grading. For private gradings, you will have to pay the grading fee and the additional cost of the chosen Sensei’s personal tuition fees.
You can check the minimum training period, the number of lessons and the grading content on our Syllabus Page. These must be adhered to. ESKA cannot make exceptions to the stated times and session requirements. If you have met all of the requirements and your Instructors are happy with your progress, you are ready to grade.
Make sure you are aware of the date and time of your grading. If you are unsure please check our calendar or contact us at any time. You need to make sure you have an ESKA Karate suit or Tiny Tiger outfit in order to grade. You must book your grading prior to the date via the ESKA website. You are now ready to grade for your next belt or T-shirt.
Your moment to shine! Immediately before each grading, there is a small warm up and run through of your grading syllabus. After this, you will be allowed a short break before the grading starts. All those grading will then be lined up and the grading will begin. The grading panel, which consists of a number of instructors you will recognise, will call you up in groups, by grade, and ask you to complete the three elements of your syllabus.
Each element is graded and an overall mark given (for example, if you gain 2 credits and 1 merit, then your overall mark will be a credit). If you are grading for 9th Kyu (Red Belt), or 8th Kyu (Orange Belt) and gain distinctions in all three elements, then you will be given the opportunity to perform the Kata appropriate to the next grade. If you do this to the grading panel’s satisfaction, then you may double grade.
Once you have finished, you should sit down and maintain a respectful silence until every student has been graded. Grading students will then be lined up again and the results announced. If successful, you will be given your new belt. You will also receive a certificate, which is presented to you at your training venue a few weeks later. We are happy for family members or friends to come along to support you although we would ask that they also maintain a respectful silence during the grading.
Sometimes, you may not be successful in your grading and will have to retake it in order to progress to the next belt. If you have been unsuccessful in just one element, then you will only have to repeat this one element at the next grading. For the elements you were successful in, you will be able to progress to the next belt’s content in lessons. If you have been unsuccessful on two or more elements, you will need to retake the whole grading again (full requirements below).
(Beginner to 1st Kyu)
If you have not passed one element of your grading (Kihon, Kata or Kumite) then you will be required to retake the one element again as long as you meet the following requirements;
(Beginner to 1st Kyu)
If you have not passed two or more elements of your grading (Kihon, Kata or Kumite) then you will be required to retake the whole grading (all three elements) again as long as you meet the following requirements;
If you have not passed any element of your grading (Kihon, Kata or Kumite) then you will be required to retake the whole grading (all three elements) again as long as you meet the following requirements:
Our son has been with ESKA for 3 months and has just had his first grading. The grading process was an unknown to us but every step of the way the fantastic team have helped us. The team are a credit to Eska as wherever you train they all have the same passion for the sport and to do a good job. We now have a super happy red belt who passed with merit . Thanks all
Catherine
Find out about all our upcoming gradings, competitions, classes and social events with our online events calendar.
Each grade has a different syllabus you are required to learn and complete in order to grade to the next belt.
Personal tuition lessons are available for Adults, Juniors and Tiny Tigers at The Dojo Norwich with our instructors. Instructors can be emailed directly to arrange a session.
A professional karate club based in East Anglia, headed by Chief Instructor Jason Hitchings, 6th Dan. We are dedicated to teaching traditional Shotokan Karate to the very highest standard.
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