Guidelines for Hosting Black Belt Gradings
By Mr Duncan Styles, Paul M Glendowie
NB Don't let this very comprehensive checklist put you off hosting a black belt grading :-)
People and the Relationships
- Emails and Communication
- Examiners
- The examiners are your seniors
- Start emails with Dear Sir / Ma'am
- Think about what you are saying, is that question covered here. Can your instructor help out?
- Breaking Team (having a specialist team with experience in this area will save you sleep. Highly recommended)
Set-up - Friday Evening
- They are saving you countless hours
- Do exactly what they ask
- Thank profusely
- Marshals
- Ask nicely to sign the registration
- Greet warmly and remember they are your senior (mostly)
- Instructors
- Spectators
- Instruct where to sit
- Welcome them
- Remember some are parents of candidates are are more nervous than the candidates
- Ask them to leave when the grading is about to start - nicely
- Venue Owner
- If the venue you are planning on is one of our existing club locations, always check with the club instructor first before approaching the venue management. It is important to consider the relationship the clubs have with the venue owners, plus the instructor may well be able to help to secure the booking.
- Be nice
- Get dates and confirmation in email if you can
- Organise Wifi password for the on-line test
- At the grading
- The grading is a formal event and you should be showing your best formal behaviour. Everyone at the grading is being graded in one way or another, from the examiners down.
-
Examiners
- Sir is a great word
- Mr is another
- Attention and Bow is really good too
- Your respect shows the candidates a good example
- Breaking Team
- Marshals
- Instructors
- Spectators
- Be firm
- Be polite
- stop people entering while the grading is in progress
- Venue Owner
- Thanks
- Communicate
- take notes during the venue meetings
Equipment
- Beep test
- Catering
- Plates
- Jugs
- Knives and forks
- Paper cups
- sugar
- stirrers
- milk
- coffee maker (or handy cafe :))
- Lunch
- morning tea
- afternoon tea
- Fitness Test and Self Defense
- Air Shields
- Stop watch
- mats (required for sit ups and Self Defense)
- Find a set
- Book for the grading date
- Arrange Pick up
- Arrange delivery for Friday night
- Unpack and set up
- Focus Pads
- Destruction - Boards
- Space to set up piles
- Boards, see examples for budgeting
- Junior Boards
- Breaking Machines - approx 1 per 15 candidates
- Boxes for Over Head Kick
- Chairs for holders for High Front Snap Kick
- Floor protection for Breaking Machines
- Floor protection for falling boards.
- Destruction - Tiles
- Floor protection
- Clay roof tiles
- Building blocks to support tiles
- Big Tarp
- 2 Small tarps for each break station
- Trailer for broken bits
- Space to set up piles
- Examiner
- Table
- Chairs
- Coffee
- Cups
- Grading kit Table cloth
- Instructors
- Marshals
- Chairs
- Sign on list for examiners see examples
- Candidates
- Area for Bags, Drinks and Sparring gear
- Male and Female Changing rooms
- Ice for injury
- Theory Test
- Area for Lecture and exam
- Wifi available for on-line test
- Area for interviews (separate to exam)
- Grading Saturday
- Area for Form Up
- Area for secondary training (Candidates are required to test in smaller groups during the afternoon)
- Flag / Banner
- Grading Sunday
- Area for Form Up
- Area for candidate seating- similar to Gup grading
- Flag / Banner
- Seating
- Parking
- Crowd Control (late arrivals)
Bases to Cover
- Venue
- site check
- Large enough for expected numbers
- changing area
- Parking
- seating for spectators, marshals and instructors
- tables for examiners
- table for lunch/catering
- seating for exam
- desk and seats for interview
- keys
- pick up
- drop off
- gates
- windows
- class room keys
- alarms
- codes
- arming
- opening up
- False alarms
- Lights
- Wifi
- instructions for chairs, basketball hoops , garages, bleachers, air con, ventilation.
- parking
- examiners
- candidates
- crew
- spectators
- beep test
- Adequate space in the venue
- Emergency numbers
- Emergency procedure
- Fire
- other like earth quake
- Meetings
- Organisation Review
- Attempt to Schedule 1 month before
- Get a peer or one of the examiners to sit down and review your progress.
- They will hopefully pick up on any omissions
- Crew
- Breaking Team
- Consumables
- examiners
- Candidates
- Ice
- bandages
- First Aid
- gloves
- Destruction
- Book Breaking Team if you can (eg Mr Meliesea in AKL)
- advise candidate list
- ask for help on Saturday for Over Head Kick and Flying High Front Snap Kick
- buy boards and tiles
- thank them profusely
- advise times (Sat pm, Sun pm)
- Boards
- Estimate board requirements (obtain final entry numbers from the Examiner as soon as entries close - 1 month before grading)
- Use ITKD approved board supplier
- Order (preferably 3 weeks in advance of grading)
- Purchase
- deliver to venue
- dump waste (find a fire place lover)
- Board Spec:
- Tiles
- Estimate Tile requirements
- Find Supplier (MacMillan Slaters and Tilers in Auckland)
- Order
- Purchase
- Pick up from Supplier
- deliver to venue
- dump waste
- Breaking Team
- Protect the Floor from falling boards!!!
- Protect the floor from breaking machines!!!
- For each Machine:
- Leader
- Holder 1
- Holder 2
- Sweeper
- Spares
- List of Candidates
- Measure for all breaks on Saturday after run
- Have boards in piles as per form up
- Multiple machines
- Each break is performed separately
- all machines are reset at the end of all breaks
- Tiles
- have at least 4 stations
- 1 towel per station
- get the ice ready
- set up each station simultaneously
- Use 2 small tarps per station to collect waste
- remove all waste to outside trailer after each break
- Protect the FLOOR!!!
- Overhead Kick
- per station (2 or 3))
- Cardboard boxes approx height of kneeling person
- 2 holders
- 1 sweeper
- 1 pile of boards
- Candidates can be asked to hold
- Flying High Front Snap Kick (2 or 3)
- per station
- 2 chairs
- 2 holders
- Sweeper
- Pile of boards
- Candidates can be asked to hold
- Fitness
- Plank
- some mats available if possible
- Press-ups
- No requirements for timing.
- Beep test
- Power Test
- 1 air shield is between 2
- stop watch (examiners have cell phones so usually covered)
- Borrow air shields if your club has insufficient
- Ensure you organise pick up, rental payment and return
- Documentation
- Form Up
- Form-up Document
- A Mechanism is required to share the form up document with the principle examiner (i.e. google Docs)
- If not using Google docs maintain a version number in the name i,e, Form_up_v1.4.xls
- Not everyone is into google so you may need to cater for them
- be prepared to spend some time on this document - it's important
- There will be several changes - cope with it
- Be prepared for drop-outs due to sickness or injury
- A final printed version is required for the candidates to view on Saturday am
- Layout
- Black Belts on front Row
- Red Stripes behind
- Taller candidates at rear
- Candidate pairing
- Some request Pairing for 1 Step
- keep them together
- keep the pairings together if there are changes
- Pairing needs to be in lines 1/2, 3/4. These lines turn and face each other.
- Destruction Form Up
- Breaking machine(s) - (Usually Sunday Only)
- Arrange so size is approx the same for each machine
- Ensure space to note breaking height and board quantity
- Have a copy for the Breaking Coordinator
- A copy for each Breaking Machine Leader
- supply a copy for the examiners
- Overhead - (Usually Saturday)
- Split group into groups for each station
- supply a copy for the examiners
- High front snap kick - (Usually Saturday)
- Split into groups for each station
- supply a copy of the groups for the examiners
- Free Form (III Dan)
- Note Candidates
- If possible ask the candidate what they require for the break
- Note and pass onto the examiners
- Signs
- quiet - exam in progress
- Male/Female for changing rooms {if single gender school)
- Marshal Sign on form
- Map for candidates (published on ITFNZ site) - see examples
Set-up - Friday Evening
- Enlist helpers to:
- Set up seating
- Assemble mats
- Deliver breaking material
- Clean floor if required
- Organise basketball hoops
- Display signs
The Big Day - Saturday
- Arrival and Form Up
- Form up is usually 0830.
- Candidates will arrive from 0800
- Set up food and beverages
- Ensure the senior candidate is ready to start and take the warm-up
- Greet the examiners when they arrive
- Ensure cars are parked in designated spaces
- all doors are unlocked
- Alarms are off
- Lights are on
- Remind all to turn off cell phones
- Ask parents and spectators to leave before the grading starts
- Morning
- Ask examiners when they would like coffee/morning tea
- Keep spectators away - their day is Sunday afternoon
- Afternoon
- Assist with breaking as required
- Ensure mats are ready if required for Senior Self Defense
- Assist with fitness test as required
- Instruct your run assistants to man their stations
- Be ready to explain run course to candidates
- Assist breaking Team with measuring heights for Sunday's breaking
- Finish
- Clean up food and catering
- Clean floor if required
- lights off and lockup
The Second Big Day - Sunday
- Morning
- Open up and lights on at 0800
- Set up Lecture/exam and interview areas / check wifi
- Set up catering
- Afternoon
- Public will start arriving from 1230
- Grading commences at 1300
- Introduce Examiners
- Ensure public/instructors/marshals are seated
- Ensure Breaking Team ready to go at approx 1400
- Have ice ready
- Control late spectator entry to ensure least disruption
- Finish
- Return all seating and equipment to original locations
- Clean up and remove all rubbish
- Ensure examiners have all notes
- Lock up and you're finished.
Claim Expenses
