Do we have the same exam's?

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[Gilles D'Hoker]

I wonder if we all have the same 'kyu-exam'...

For the 6th. kyu

aihanmi katatedori iriminage
aihanmi katatedori ikkyo
aihanmi katatedori sankyo
aihanmi katatedori shomenuchi
aihanmi katatedori uchi kaitennage
aihanmi katatedori kotegaeshi
shomenuchi iriminage

At the end of the exam (and of every lessen) we must do the following exercise; ryote dori kokyu-ho performed on the knees

I'm not gona bore you with all the exams though. Please feel free to tel us what you have to perform on your first exam.

[aikiSteve]

I don't think so. I have moved quite a bit since i first started doing Aikido 11 years ago. Each school has their own little twist.

I'm going for 1st kyu in about a month. My Sensei Erik Lipton, who trained under Suenaka Sensei, has put together a pretty intense test. Here's what I'll have to demonstrate for 1st kyu:

51 various techniques with a single uke, both left and right

15 optional attacks, demonstrating 5 different defenses for each. Usually he picks 5-6 of the 15 attacks.

8 move Bokken kata

5 move Jo kata

21 move Jo kata

31 move Jo kata

2 gun/knife defenses

3 man rondori

5 man rondori

8 man Ryokatatori Rondori until you can't stand

Then I have to ukeme for my friend who is doing the same test.

Last year my friend Dimitri and I were going for 2nd kyu. Luckily Sensei stopped his Ryokatatori Rondori just in time. If he went on for another minute, he would have puked! We all saw him covering his mouth and his cheeks were flaring. All caught on tape! Doh!

I've trained with many Sensei's over the years, this is the most challenging test I've seen. I think it's fantastic.

Steve Nelson

[giriasis]

No testing techniques for 6th kyu. We don't have 6th kyu. Our first kyu rank is 5th kyu.

:)

[William Westdyke]

Holy CR@P Steve! 3 different Rendori in one test? I've never seen anyone survive 4 attachers over 5 minutes. The best I ever saw was on a NiDan test and he only got close to 5 minutes before he got knocked out(the elbow he recieved on the jaw was an accident while he was being tackled from behind). And even then (after he woke up) he was ready to die from being so tired. Maybe rendori is slightly different in other schools? I can't imagine having to go 3 rounds.

[Doka]

I did 5 last test!!!

[Doka]

Of course testing is not the same across the board! There are schools that don't touch weapons and others that use wooden or rubber weapons, and others still that use real weapons!!!

As for the later - good training it may be for combat, but does not do any more for learning the principles, just puts them all in danger, as you should be ready to get cut to defend yourself!

Who would insure against it anyway?

:rolleyes:

[William Westdyke]

Sorry to jump back to the Rendori issue but what signifies the end of your rendori? Is it timed, a certain number of falls/hits on nage or instructors preferance? How much time do you get between them? Im still in awe of anyone who can do 3, let alone 5 rendori. I know in the few tests I have been asked to do a rendori I felt ready to puke afterward. And not to boast in any way but I run 3 days a week and and hit the gym at least as often to keep in good physical condition. 5 rendori... OMG, you're my hero.

[aikiSteve]

Holy CR@P Steve! 3 different Rendori in one test? I've never seen anyone survive 4 attachers over 5 minutes.
Honestly I don't remember how long they go on for. It always feels like an eternity when it's happening, but it's probably not more than about 5 minutes. The worst is that he'll switch out ukes so they're fresh! I think there is a lot to be learned from doing Aikido until you're gasping for air. Not every experience in life should be easy.

Our 1st and 2nd kyu tests take about a hour to do. Our 5th-3rd kyu tests take about 25-30 minutes.

Steve Nelson:ai:

[aikiSteve]

Sorry to jump back to the Rendori issue but what signifies the end of your rendori? Is it timed, a certain number of falls/hits on nage or instructors preferance?

Every person is different, every test is different. Sometimes someone testing is an uke for 1 or even 2 other guys doing tests. Obviously he's not going to last very long. The Senseis leading the tests decide how long it goes on for.

How much time do you get between them?

Not much, maybe 15-30 seconds.

Im still in awe of anyone who can do 3, let alone 5 rendori. I know in the few tests I have been asked to do a rendori I felt ready to puke afterward. And not to boast in any way but I run 3 days a week and and hit the gym at least as often to keep in good physical condition. 5 rendori... OMG, you're my hero.

haha! My first Sensei Gordon Sakamoto up in Virginia could give a 3-4 minute lecture while staring at the class and simultaneously do a 3 man randori. All without breaking a sweat or seeming to breath hard. He's a hero.

Steve Nelson:ai:

[Bushi]

I have my 1st kyu test saturday. All I know is that they are going to ask me questions about history and terminology and that kind of stuff :rolleyes: . Also I'll probably have to do some randori with 3-4 people (don't know how long). I'll have to know all of the techniques that they ask me to do(anyone I have learned). Most likely end up haveing to do ukimi for a while. Plenty of push ups, sit ups, squats, and other fun things to test endurance (or maybe it is just to torcher me, I don't know :confused: ). The tests can be 3-4 hours long.:)

[Bronson]

Ok, I'll bite.

Rokyu test:

Answer two (sensei's choice) of the following in your own words:

What is aikido?
What are the principles to unify mind and body?
What are the principles of aikido?
Explain shodo o seisu.
Explain masakatsu agatsu.
Explain range of effectiveness.
Explain how we use circular motion.


Demonstrate two (your choice) aiki taiso.
Demonstrate applications for chosen aiki taiso.


Required Techniques:

katatedori nikyo
shomenuchi kokyunage
katatedori tenkan shihonage
munetsuki kotegaeshi
katatedori kotegaeshi
yokomenuchi hiji otoshi


One technique (your choice) from each:

katatedori
katate kosadori
katatedori ryotemochi
ryote dori
shomenuchi
yokomenuchi
munetsuki
ryokatadori
ushiro ryotekubitori
ushiro kubishime
ushiro dori
ushiro ryohiji dori
ushiro ryokatadori


Perform the following:

shikko
fudo tai seiza
unbendable arm
ukemi (fwd & back rolls)
unliftable body
count to 10 in Japanese


That's it for 6th kyu.

Bronson

[James Giles]

I am practicing for my 6th kyu test right now. I am in an ASU school (Aikido Schools of Ueshiba).

On my 6th kyu test I have to perform:

1. Shomenuchi ikkyo (both omote and ura)

2. Munetsuki kotegaeshi (omote and ura)

3. Katatedori shihonage (omote and ura)

4. Yokomenuchi shihonage (omote and ura)

5. Shomenuchi iriminage (omote and ura)

6. Kokyuho Tanden Ho

7. Bokken techniques (kumitachi #1 - #5, )

[Dario Rosati]

I'm going for the 6th kyu, too... Aikikai.

It really seems any dojo is somewhat different

This is what is needed:

- Shomenuchi ikkyo (O/U & Suwari Waza)

- Shomenuchi nikkyo (O/U & Suwari Waza)

- Shomenuchi sankyo (O/U)

- Shomenuchi Iriminage (O/U)

- shomenuchi/yokomenuchi Kotegaeshi

- munetsuki Kotegaeshi

- Many variant of Shihonage (can't remember them all yet :) )

- ...and others I still can't remember the name and have yet to do, where uke grabs with 2 arms one arm of the nage, and one where you tankan and then "cut" uke arm to make him fall, for example.

Anyway, my sensei testing philosophy seems to be "I'll test you seriously for the 6th when you're ready for the 5th, for the 5th when you'll be ready for the 4th, and so on" so I'm probably (unknowingly) performing 5th kyu tecniques :)

Bye!

[Mark V. Smith]

http://www.yoshinkan-aikido.org/pdf/2003_syllabus.pdf

[maynard]

I am practicing for my 6th kyu test right now. I am in an ASU school (Aikido Schools of Ueshiba).

On my 6th kyu test I have to perform:

1. Shomenuchi ikkyo (both omote and ura)

2. Munetsuki kotegaeshi (omote and ura)

3. Katatedori shihonage (omote and ura)

4. Yokomenuchi shihonage (omote and ura)

5. Shomenuchi iriminage (omote and ura)

6. Kokyuho Tanden Ho

7. Bokken techniques (kumitachi #1 - #5, )
James, good luck with your testing, I too train in an ASU dojo. I find it odd that you have to perform the Bokken techniques since they're not listed in the ASU handbook as a requirement until Shodan. Don't get me wrong, I think it's good to get started early and the weapons work really magnifies distancing, timing etc. Anyhow, good luck.

[MaryKaye]

I've seen the testing criteria (firsthand, not just on paper) at two dojo. My home dojo goes in for depth--very few throws, but increasingly stringent demands on how well they're done. The one where I was a guest took the opposite approach, with dozens to literally hundreds of throws on each test.

Both very workable approaches on their own, but if the students start comparing notes everyone ends up feeling insecure.... They'd ask me how many throws I did for fifth kyu (five) and tell me how many they did (thirty) and I'd feel utterly ignorant. Or I'd mention some detail of one of those throws, using what I think of as beginner-level technical vocabulary, and get the same response in reverse. This experience convinced me that though it's interesting to hear about other peoples' tests, it's a big mistake to worry about their criteria.

My fourths will be:

yokomenuchi shihonage (irimi and tenkan) shomenuchi kokyunage

munetsuki koteoroshi

kata tori ikkyo (irimi and tenkan)

kokyu dosa

two "optional throws":

katate tori kokyunage zenpo-nage

katate tori irimi kokyunage

hitori waza:

ikkyo undo

zengo undo

happo undo

zenshin-koshin

shikko

Plus, anything from fifth is fair game, and sensei likes to ask "Do you know another throw from that attack?" I am wondering how he'll react if he happens to pick katate kosa tori as the attack in question, because my reflexive "other throw" from that is something I clearly didn't learn from him....

By the time we're ready to test we've had a good deal of practice with the required throws; but the optional ones take detective work. I know two different throws that both go by the name of katate tori kokyunage zenpo-nage. There does not seem to be an answer to "which one is really on the test?" so I'm resigned to having to do both (pity, since I do the second one rather badly).

Mary Kaye

[indomaresa]

it's always better to be overtrained in exams.

[James Giles]

James, good luck with your testing, I too train in an ASU dojo. I find it odd that you have to perform the Bokken techniques since they're not listed in the ASU handbook as a requirement until Shodan.

Yes , since my post, I believe my Sensei changed his mind about the Bokken techniques being on the test. Yes, I really enjoyed working with the bokken and I can already see how the movements are related to the open-hand techniques.

Thanks John for wishing me luck. I think I am going to test a week from this Wednesday and I am still a little shaky on the shihonage techniques and the iriminage.

P.S. I think we are going to have a seminar up here soon with Sensei Dennis Hooker. I don't know if it is written in stone yet, but if it takes place, maybe you can make it up here and check it out. Take care, James

[sainu]

For my 6th kyu, I had to know dojo behavior, ukemi (mae, ushiro), and taino-tenkan-ho. The techniques were:

tachiwaza:
aihanmi katatedori ikkyo (omote, ura)
iriminage
gyakuhanmi katatedori shihonage (omote, ura)
kokyunage
ryotedori tenchinage
shomen-uchi iriminage

suwariwaza:
ryotedori kokyu-ho

[Lyle Laizure]

Not only do test requirements vary from organization to organization but as well from dojo to dojo within an organization. I believe most schools etc have a set curriculum but it is ultimately up to sensei when test time arrives, so be prepared.

[markwalsh]

Traveling around I've found that most schools teach some from of irimi nage, ikkyo and shiho nage for the first grade. Also etiquette, basic movements, ukemi, etc

[Kalle Koskinen]

Here is the kyu-grading requirements for Aikikai in Finland:

http://www.finland-aikikai.fi/aikido.php?sivu=palvelut_vyokoe_5.php&osa=palvelut

And here are the requirements for weapon techniques (starting from 3. kyu):

http://www.finland-aikikai.fi/aikido.php?sivu=palvelut_vyokoe_7.php&osa=palvelut

[tenshinaikidoka]

Brutal!!!!

[Steve Mullen]

if you are interested in the outline of the sylabus for White Rose you should go to www.zanshinaikidouk.net and look for the sylabus link in the left-hand column, this has got the sylabus form 6th kyu up to shodan, however, like i said this is just a rough outline and its a little old but you get the general idea.

[Stick]

The longest randori I've ever witnessed in a test lasted well over an hour. Our randori -- this is Suenaka Sensei's organization, the AIKDPS -- always comes at the end of the test. It begins with jo tori (jo-taking/jo waza) randori, then progresses to general randori with eight or ten uke, and then ends with ryokata-tori randori, with as many uke or more rushing the testing candidate non-stop, attempting to knock him or her down. The goal is to both see if the candidate can navigate the continuous attacks, and to tire the candidate such that all they wind up running on is ki and guts. The candidate to whom I refer withstood 53 minutes of ryokata-tori randori before Sensei ended it -- not because the candidate was tired, but because the uke were!

FYI, I should note that the testing candidate was (and still is) a highway patrolman and triathlete in superb physical condition. Most ryokata-tori randori last about ten minutes before the candidate poops out, or Sensei declares the test concluded.