The minimum level of C grade is quite high. Word is that the highest grade ever achieved was a B+ I personally only know of three people (many people keep their grade quiet) that have passed with this level and one of them happens to be me! Although mine was along time ago. Pity they can't roll it back for the past 10 years and stop alot of the poor standards from getting out there. Sttil better late than never!! I think that there should be much tighter control over the pass. Rather than a graded (a.b.c.d) pass, there should be a simple pass or fail at a higher standard.
Well that's even weirder!!! It should be "competent enough to teach the technique to someone lower", I think. If you are super awesome, then that's cool, but no extra award is needed. It should be pass or fail based on thorough and competent understanding.
Well I think there are plans for more ongoing training for instructors so maybe a seperate test/assessment for teaching as well as the required pass grade would be an idea?
I presume when they say teach they actually mean grade people, in my experience people start teaching lower grade sashes from yellow sash or even earlier.
When my lot teach their partners something I like to stand back and observe. It gives you a great idea of their understanding of the technique by how well they can show/explain it to another person.
I wonder if anyone has actually paid a fee to be re-examined ? The idea that ability and ability to teach are directly linked is slightly flawed IMO. I can fully understand people saying "i don't care what grade I get as long as I pass" I mean the aim of the test is to come out with a black sash, just as the aim of say the driving test is to come out with a driving licence - passing with flying colours or scraping through makes no odds.
I have to disagree with this. It is about self esteem and an attitude of " I want to be the best I possibly can". If you just think "i'll have a go and scrape through, that's good enough", then I am very sad. The martial arts is about hard work & effort. It is about pushing yourself to the limits of your ability and hopefully beyond that. A driving test is a minimum standard to get on the road and be safe. It is something that we NEED to do in life. Taking a black sash in Kung Fu is personal choice and personal development to add some value and additional quality into your life. If you do not want to be the best that you possibly can be at kung Fu then why bother with the grade? why not just go on line a buy a black sash? Irrespective or where you get your black sash from, you need to remember that it has no value to anyone apart from yourself, and if you don't care how well you do just so long as you scrape through, then it has no value to anyone. This I partly agree with. An amazing technican or fighter does not mean they will be a good teacher. However it does not matter how good a teacher a person is if the content of their teaching is of poor quality. I think the grade C aspect is to say that these pepple have a slightly better standard. They still need to attend Instructors courses and coaching courses to improve their teaching skill.
I think you have slightly misinterpreted what i meant Herbert, I definitely agree you should aim high "Aim for the stars and maybe you'll reach the sky", I just think that at the end of the day your aim is to pass the black sash and a good pass is just a bonus. If it was only about raising standards then why not just make passing it harder (which i believe they have anyway - a double whammy). Your OP suggests you have doubts about the system (and its motives) - I agree with you on that.
When you say "doubt the system", I assume you mean the system of calculating a pass or fail. In that case, yes i have for many years been concerned about the pass standard. Why have a variable pass grade? Any pass is good enough to get the sash, but now only a good pass will be elligble to teach. This is a massive step forward, but there needs to be more. I have heard on the jungle drums that the BKFA are considering making Instrustor certification an annual requirement. What a great idea! The same drums also say that there will NOT be a charge for this certification. It will only require attendance at the bi-annual instructors courses, to get corrections etc. How many of the bkfa people here or non bkfa for that matter ever seen a real BKFA Instructors certificate like the on in the back of the syllabus book?
