How to prepare for martial arts gradings
For a person
starting out on their martial arts journey, or even for the person aiming for
their black belt, nothing can be more nerve wracking than the prospect of
martial arts grading.
The pressure
is on to demonstrate to your coach or sensei, and to yourself that you have
taken on board all your training, have developed your skills, and learned from
the advice given to you as you’ve trained. So, the question is,
what is the best way to prepare for a martial arts grading?
The best
advice is to eat, drink and sleep healthily in the run up to your grading, but
there are other sport specific things you can do to help your nerves and give
you the best chance of gaining that belt.
1. Train often throughout the week. Training once a week is a good
starting point, but it will limit your opportunity to grade and remember your
techniques. Training regularly will make a huge difference to your progression.
2. Get clarity on what you need to do to grade. Are you still making that
same silly error, do you need to improve one particular move, is your speed
good enough? Ask your sensei or coach what you can do to make the most
improvement.
3. For junior grades, check your grading chart and see what badges and
stickers you need to complete your grading eligibility. For senior grades make
sure you’ve attended enough classes.
4. Listen to your coach or sensei. They have been watching you develop
as you’ve trained for grading, they have the experience and knowledge that you
need to give you the best chance of passing. Take on board any advice your
coach offers, and work on what they suggest.
5. Work hard in your training sessions, getting sweaty each class means
you are pushing your body which in turn strengthens your mind. At your grading
you’ll try your hardest and you need to know you can keep that effort going,
your class time will give you that confidence.
6. Prepare your uniform. Make sure you have everything you need, washed
and ironed, ready to take to your grading. Take water to keep hydrated.
7. Get there early. The unknown is a great contributor to nerves and
anxiety, so get to your grading early, so you won’t feel rushed.
8. Enjoy it! If you don’t perform as you’d hoped, learn from that, and
don’t let it be the only thing that happened that day. There is much to take
away from experiencing a martial arts grading, so don’t dwell on mistakes,
choose to remember the positives.
In our
previous blog, ‘What Does it
Mean to be a Black Belt’,
Ben Richardson, Sensei talks about how achieving black belt status is not the
end of the journey for the martial arts student, but a symbol of how far they
have already come. He believes martial arts gradings are a tool to help you
hone your body and mind so you can absorb information quicker, make decisions
quicker and go forward with confidence, and that martial arts gradings are
about personal growth and self-expression.
The CDMA team
help students prepare for their gradings by hosting art-specific sessions for
anyone going forward. We are here to help, to support and inspire confidence.
To anyone about to grade, we wish you courage and determination.