06/12/2025
Alright you lot, it's grading time!!! LONG POST - Make sure you read it all or ask your braille dog to read it for you. Be *sure* to read the LAST THINGS at the bottom.
Get amongst the excitement 🤪 Jigoro Kano will be so very pleased to look out at you from Shomen and thank the stars that back in 1882 when he founded judo in his small dojo in Tokyo that 143 years later his Judo would still be learned in a beautiful dojo on a wee island called Tasmania.*
"But what do I need to do!???!??", we hear you ask? Well, here is the hot tip, remember all of the things we did in class; no, really, think about what we did. Then review all the videos we have posted over the the last term (De Ashi Barai, Kesa Gatame, O Soto Gari and so on) of the throws, holds and turnovers we practiced, because you will be asked to do the following:
Techniques: JUNIORS
Junior White (moving to yellow):
> demonstrate +1 throw,
>+1 hold down,
> tying your belt with a basic Judo knot,
> demonstrate Ukemi (break falls),
> some Judo Knowledge
- Junior Yellow (moving to Orange):
> demonstrate +2 throws,
> +1 hold down,
> tying your belt with a basic Judo knot,
> demonstrate Ukemi (break falls),
> some Judo Knowledge
- Junior Orange (moving to Orange-Green):
> demonstrate +2 throws plus 1 combination technique (from one throw to another),
> +2 hold downs and +2 escapes,
> transition from a throw to a hold,
> tying your belt with a basic Judo knot,
> demonstrate Ukemi (break falls),
> Judo Knowledge and basic terminology (Japanese names for techniques)
Junior Yellow (moving to Senior Cadet Orange):
> 1st Kyo of Gokyo (first 8 throws)
>+2 Hold Downs
> 1 Armlock
> 1 Strangle
> advanced Breakfalls
> tying your belt with a Judo knot (simple or formal)
> Judo Knowledge and basic terminology (Japanese names for techniques)
> regular training
> contest rules – basic understanding
Techniques - SENIOR:
Senior White (moving to Senior Yellow):
Basic understandings of Judo fundamentals – posture, movement, breaking balance and terminology.
> 1st Kyo of Gokyo (first 8 throws)
> 2 Hold Downs
> 1 Armlock
> 1 Strangle
> demonstrate Ukemi (break falls)
> tying your belt with a basic Judo knot
> Judo knowledge
> regular training
Senior Yellow (moving to Senior Orange):
Improved break falls, increasing knowledge of techniques. Able to display techniques with correct unbalancing, control and speed.
>1st Kyo of Gokyo (first 8 throws)
> 2 Hold Downs
> 1 Armlock
> 1 Strangle
> demonstrate Ukemi (break falls)
> tying your belt with a basic Judo knot
> Judo knowledge
> regular training
> contest rules (basic understanding)
LAST THINGS:
As much as any technique that you are graded on, you are also graded on your Judo Spirit; your attitude, your listening and focus skills, your interaction with others in your group, your manners, your cleanliness, your willingness to participate, your love of pizza (okay, maybe not that one). Judo is a WHOLE activity and pursuit.
You need to bring the WHOLE of you to the grading, and treat the time with a degree of seriousness as you might for a test or exam at school, because that is what a grading is. Be respectful, be punctual (on time), be patient, be there.
Good luck everyone, and we will see you on the mat.
Judo Knowledge*:
Who was the founder of judo?
Where was it founded?
What year was it founded?
What is the name of the High Seat we bow to at the beginning and end of each training session in the dojo?
What is the name of the place we train in?
Purpose of Ukemi (Breakfalls)
Forms of sitting and standing bowing (Zarei and Ritsurei)
Basic Japanese terminology
*see what we did there?
One final note: Belts and certificates will be presented at our final night party on the 17th of December. There will be no formal training that night, just Presentations, People, and Pizza!!! Everyone who graded must attend
