Terminal rank in jūdō

Jonesy wrote:

still learning wrote:

Jonesy wrote:

medo wrote:

Kenan79 wrote:

Hanon wrote:

And btw, there's no sandbagging, croatian system is among other things, time-based so you get every belt after 1 year of active practice and I'm yet to completely reach the 3 year mark (for a green belt). I'm where I'm supposed to be.

So a years practice equals 1 belt grade? even if you train 5days a week! I can understand that transition from brown to black could take time as that is the big step but seriously 3yrs everyday training and only a low kyu grade that I don't understand.    

In the new system introduced by the BJA the norm is  to progress at 1 grade colour per year for. Oth children and adults.  This however is driven by money making concerns in the case of children, where there are 18mon grades, with each colour being subdivided into 3.  The costs is £7.50 per mon, with a suggested surcharge of £5 on top.  It is only allowed to progress one mon at a time.
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A nice generalisation Jonesy, but the revised grading syllabus does allow for faster promotions per page 6 on the attached.
http://www.britishjudo.org.uk/sites/default/files/Mon%20Grading%20Syllabus%20Oct%202013.pdf there is a similar link for kyu grades.

Yes, but this is a "one off" and does not apply to grades above 6 mon.

I acknowledge that it is not perfect, however I think the system has its merits; a structured, transparent system that enables judoka to progress towards 1st kyu by the time most reach 18. There will always be people who fall outside of any structure, and whilst I do not work for the BJA or blindly follow their rationale, I think they have got this reasonably right.

Now, if such a structured and transparent system was introduced for higher ranks then we would all be a lot happier,

still learning wrote:
I acknowledge that it is not perfect, however I think the system has its merits; a structured, transparent system that enables judoka to progress towards 1st kyu by the time most reach 18. There will always be people who fall outside of any structure, and whilst I do not work for the BJA or blindly follow their rationale, I think they have got this reasonably right.

Now, if such a structured and transparent system was introduced for higher ranks then we would all be a lot happier,

I agree that it is transparent and structured, but the downside is that it make little concession to the fact that everyone progresses at a different rate and has different ability. One mon at a time is very slow - 3 to 4 years for a green/blue belt is not reasonable progress in my view and not what the grading system should be about.  There are too many junior grades - where else in the world are there 18 mon grades? How can this be justified? Also, I cannot believe it is not about milking the juniors and their parents for all they are worth.  After all 80% of the BJA membership are juniors, and so represent the biggest revenue pot.

Jonesy wrote:

still learning wrote:
I acknowledge that it is not perfect, however I think the system has its merits; a structured, transparent system that enables judoka to progress towards 1st kyu by the time most reach 18. There will always be people who fall outside of any structure, and whilst I do not work for the BJA or blindly follow their rationale, I think they have got this reasonably right.

Now, if such a structured and transparent system was introduced for higher ranks then we would all be a lot happier,

I agree that it is transparent and structured, but the downside is that it make little concession to the fact that everyone progresses at a different rate and has different ability. One mon at a time is very slow - 3 to 4 years for a green/blue belt is not reasonable progress in my view and not what the grading system should be about.  There are too many junior grades - where else in the world are there 18 mon grades?  How can this be justified?  Also, I cannot believe it is not about milking the juniors and their parents for all they are worth.  After all 80% of the BJA membership are juniors, and so represent the biggest revenue pot.

I actually like the number of grades as it means that small steps can be taken and recognised thereby allowing children to gain a sense of achievement on a regular basis. For most of our juniors learning the syllabus for their next grade is generally as much as they can do between gradings. Notwithstanding this I agree that there will always be cases where children progress quicker and should be able to gain a higher grade more quickly, it is a regrettable that the current system does nothing in this regard.

As for the cost, it will always be somewhat thorny issue, grading in clubs is easier and cheaper than travelling to centres. As a parent I would say that compared to other things that my children have done over the years I do not consider it excessive.

To further illustrate the point I earlier raised in this thread, two more Kôdôkan 9th dan-holders have passed away:

- Morita Sôji 田森荘二 who taught at Kôbe University of Commerce

http://www.geocities.jp/hyokenjudo/syasin20051104.html


- Yamakata Toshimi 山肩敏美, a 1946 graduate of Meiji Univ. from Hiroshima already died in Oct 2013.

http://ameblo.jp/kk-sports/entry-11632924601.html

This brings the total of Kôdôkan 9th dan-holders who died in 2013 to five.