On Sunday two of my friends took the grading test for Shodan at Hombu Dojo so I went to watch. About a dozen people took various Kyuu gradings, 6 people tested for Shodan, 2 for Nidan, 3 for Sandan, and 4 for Yondan. The grading teachers were Katsurada Sensei and Kobayashi Sensei (coincidentally my 2 teachers from Advanced Gakko). There was a large crowd, the entire wooden area at the back of the 3rd floor dojo was filled with people watching.

It was the first time I’d seen the regular grading exams, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. All of my gradings have been taken through the “Aikido Gakko” (Beginners Gakko for 4th and 3rd Kyuu, Intermediate Gakko for 2nd and 1st Kyuu). The Kyuu gradings were very similar to the gradings I took, the only difference being that for the Gakko gradings we were told before-hand exactly what waza we would have to perform, whereas the for the regular gradings you never quite know what the teacher might choose till the test, making the Gakko tests slightly less stressful (especially once you get up to 2nd Kyuu and 1st Kyuu).

The Shodan candidates were graded 3 at a time. Everyone had pre-selected partners, and they were all yudansha (some as high as 3rd or 4th Dan I think), and very good uke‘s. The techniques called were roughly what I expected, a range of standard techniques (Shomenuchi Iriminage, Yokomenuchi Shihonage, etc), a range of Suwariwaza (Ikkyo through Yonkyo, Hanmihandachi Shihonage, etc), and then a mixture of some other techniques (Tsuki Kotegaeshi, Tsuki Kaitennage, Ushiro Ryotedori Sankyo, etc). This was followed by three short sets of Jiyuwaza (Shomenuchi, Yokomenuchi and Katatedori). I believe Shomenuchi and Yokomenuchi Jiyuwaza are a little unusual, it’s normally a mixture of Katatedori, Ryotedori and Morotedori, and my friends taking the test were a bit surprised when it was called but managed to do it okay. The Katatedori set was longest, and still only enough for about 6 or 7 techniques. The Shodan test finished up with Suwariwaza Kokyuho, as did all the other tests.

In total the Shodan test was about 15 minutes, which is a bit shorter than I had expected. I suppose they can’t make it much longer due to the number of people taking the tests (among other reasons). A couple of the uke‘s looked quite tired at the end of 15 minutes, but there were plenty of people who could have filled in. I’d be interested to know if that is the normal length of the Shodan test.

One of my friends, Hirata San, was the stand-out performer among the Shodan candidates. He was quite forceful in his techniques – not muscling, but not holding back – and his uke did a great job. I’ve trained with Hirata San quite a few times (we joined Beginners Gakko together), and his technique is very very solid. After the test we went for a drink and he told me he’d trained 180 days since his 1st Kyuu test. The standard requirement for Shodan is 70 days since 1st Kyuu, and you could really tell that the extra practice made a difference. I was mostly watching my friends, but the other candidates seemed to put in good performances, I didn’t notice any obviously sub-standard candidates. I heard later that one of the candidates had taken the test for the 4th time – coming back after being denied 3 times shows a lot of courage.

After a short break, it was time for the Nidan test. The difference between Shodan and Nidan candidates was quite noticeable, the Nidan candidates were more composed, and the techniques seemed to flow quite a lot smoother. The Sandan candidates were another small but noticeable step up. I didn’t notice much difference between the Sandan and Yondan candidates (in fact a couple of them didn’t look as good to me), but perhaps it’s too subtle for me at that level? From Nidan onwards the techniques included Tantodori (uke attacks with a knife) as well as randori with two people (二人掛), and from Sandan they include the Bokken and the randori is with three people (三人掛). I think the strangest technique I remember was “Hanmihandachi Ushiro Ryokatadori Sankyo“. It’s actually not that different from Tachiwaza Ushiro Ryotedori Sankyo, but I’m sure I couldn’t do it and make it look good, whereas the Sandan and Yondan candidates all handled it fine. The Sandan and Yondan tests were about 20-25 minutes each (one of my Sempai who tested in July said his test was longer, 30-40 minutes I think, but that was a different teacher).

After all the tests Kobayashi Sensei moved to the center of the tatami and gave a little feedback. He didn’t have much to say, one of the Kyuu candidates from another dojo was advised to train at Hombu a little before tests (Kobayashi Sensei mentioned that the style at the other dojo may be a little different, but that it was hard to tell). One of the 3rd Dan candidates was cautioned that he made the techniques look too easy! I’ve watched that person before and he uses a very soft style with small movements, I think the teachers prefer more bold movements during the tests.

After the teachers left I had a talk to my friends who had taken Shodan. They both said they had been surprised by the Shomenuchi and Yokomenuchi Jiyuwaza that was called, and that they had felt very nervous. I think they were both fairly relieved it was over! They both did a great job though, and next time I see them they’ll be wearing hakama!