Good Morning, I have a Grading dilemma, a 7 year old student , performed his grading, he has done great in the fighting/self-defence part but has missed parts from the syllabus like katas and some blocks. Do not want to discourage him by failing his exam...due to the fact that he is very good in the fighting area.... Do you ever had this dilemma? Is there a go-between solution? Mark
You can highlight the good parts of the test and then choose to re-test the sections s/he failed after a period of re-training. In that way you don't have to "fail" the student, but you can still hold them accountable for all of the material before promoting him/her.
Probationary Pass - it's the ultimate cop out - you give them the new grade, but they can't take the next grading until they have been taken off probation.
This. But ultimately his ego will have to learn to deal with the fact that no pass -> no grade. The more they get coddled, the harder they will fall on their face once they hit high school or college.
No that's why the probationary pass is a good compromise. That said, if the kid didn't even know the kata he was supposed to know, the teacher had no business letting him take the exam in the first place. And he should have talked with the kid in advance about what was needed to take the exam. The kid is 7, not stupid. I have 1 kid who is almost 7, and the other is a couple months shy from 9. At that age they need motivation, but if you explain things, they do understand why they cannot take the exam just yet.
I agree. No instructor should allow a student to take a grading unless they are reasonably sure they know the syllabus. I understand that sometimes particular techniques will fall through the cracks or a student might not be 100% sure on a kata, but if there is a big chunk of the syllabus missing, then the instructor should catch that and tell the student he/she isn't ready to grade yet. Sure, I think being told they aren't ready is a very different thing to being allowed to take the grading and then being humiliated when they fail.
The probational pass Thomas advised is IMO the best route. At seven they need motivation and encouragement, lest they drop out all together. Give them the grade and work on the areas that need improvement with the student. Cheers Dan93
I thank you all for the input. Agree that the probational pass is the best route. In meantime, I spoke to his parents and they fully understand The kid knew the kata and all moves, but for some reason he just froze during the grading. I believe this kid has some 'issues' due to family background so my intention (and that why I am posting here) is to help him, in a holistic way througout his life and not just fail him I think this way is the best ! Thanks again and all the best for festive period
Yeah performance anxiety can be a real bitch. It's one of the reasons I don't see the point in formal gradings when they are being conducted by the student's instructor. You know the student can do the techniques because you've seen him/her doing them week after week - why do you need to see them do the techniques again?
Grade the student on the student. I feel that grading's are just a formaility, you wouldn't have asked them to test if you didn't feel they were already there. The test is a measure of how well they can handle stress, and being in the spotlight... The kata's and techniques are quantitative, and should be graded as such... but the process itself should be qualitative and should include the hard work, the blood sweat and tears as it were for the student to reach that point. I'd pass a student who had stage fright, but I knew that they knew the material...
I asked my current instructor this a few weeks ago, he told me that in his eyes, it is that particular test of courage and evaluation of your effort and training under pressure that's valuable. The belt itself is neither here nor there. Under pressure, almost everyone's technique gets worse and just turning up for regular sessions simply does not create enough pressure to make that kind of difference to a person.
Sparring always adds more pressure and creates sloppier techniques than a grading scenario. It's a bizarre way of doing things that only makes sense if a stranger performs the grading.
But there's also a difference between "in class sparring" and "grading sparring" in my experiences, which is interesting to see. I do agree though that getting your own instructor to grade you is a bit strange.
