How To Be Ready For a Mini-Kids Grading
Here are some tips for parents and children that will be useful for those preparing for a Mini Kids grading.
Your child’s Mini Kids Handbook contains all the techniques and theory that they will be tested on. For example, all of the White belt (10th Gup) syllabus can be found between pages 18 and 23. Children will learn the relevant physical techniques and other content in class. In addition, they will be encouraged to reinforce their learning by practising and completing activities at home.
This process is the same for all 10 grades in our Mini Kids syllabus.
Homework and Theory
In the lead up to a grading, students will need to:
- Complete the home sheet in their Mini Kids Handbook for the rank they are grading for
- Learn the theory in their book and be able to answer oral questions about it
- Have their own uniform
- Ask the instructor any questions they might have
- Keep practising at home.
Pre-Grading Period
The two weeks before a grading are known as the pre-grading period. During that time, the instructor will be assessing students to see whether they are ready to grade, and will give feedback on what to improve.
Factors taken into consideration in deciding whether to allow students to grade include attendance, behaviour and attitude in class, home and school over the term, as well as their Taekwon-Do skills and knowledge.
As a guide for attendance, a minimum of 70 percent is acceptable, which is about 13 lessons in a nine week term.
Sometimes students are not given approval to grade. Often this results in disappointment, but the most important lesson for our children to learn in this situation is to not be disheartened. As hard as it may seem, there will be many times in life when your child will experience disappointment, and so it is important that they learn how to bounce back after a set back.
Taekwon-Do should not be seen as a race to get through the grades. It is important for our students to be comfortable with their current level before progressing to the next. The journey is the reward, whereas grading is the icing on the cake.
Registering to grade
When students are approved to grade, parents will receive a link to the online grading registration form. They will then need to:
- Complete the online grading registration form
- Complete the Student Report form (download, complete, scan and send back, or complete a hard copy)
- Pay the grading fee by the deadline once you receive our invoice
- Check that training fee payments are up to date
- Diarise the date and time of the grading
- Encourage your child to continue practising skills and learning the relevant theory at home.
At The Grading
The grading is normally conducted as part of a class on a regular training day and time.
Gradees are grouped together by grade and asked to demonstrate various aspects of their syllabus. They will also be asked questions that test their knowledge of the theory work.
Depending on time, students are then presented with their new grading certificates and stripes representing their new rank, and we take a group photo.
Gradings are just one aspect of Taekwon-Do. We encourage students to get involved in other events that will help them grow and develop throughout the year. These can include tournaments, club events, special training and kids’ camps.
