Bucks Kempo – Grading Syllabus
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This p age is (c) Guy Gratton, 2006. Please feel free to copy or link any text, but you must say where it came from.

Below is Bucks Kempo’s core syllabus. At the moment we’re a relatively young club, which is why there are not higher grade requirements shown, they’ll be posted as any students in the club reach those levels. As well as these requirements is the obvious need to have reached an appropriate level of overall martial arts development in the view of your instructor / grading examiner – a flexibility and understanding of technique and it’s application that can’t easily be expressed in a simple list.

This syllabus is different to that practiced in other BKS clubs, although we all recognise the equivalence of each others standards.

If you are from another club or style and want to borrow our ideas, please feel free – but it would be very nice to know what you’ve done with it. Please beware, that the use of Japanese to describe techniques varies a lot between styles both inside and outside Japan, so some of the names may differ from those in other Budo-derived martial arts styles.

7^th-5^th kyu grading syllabus

8th kyu = white belt

7^th kyu = yellow belt

6^th kyu = orange belt

5^th kyu = green belt

Ukemi / breakfalling

Yellow: demonstrate forward, left, right, backwards breakfalling

Orange: + rolls in each direction

Green: + over the belt breakfalling left and right, and extended forward rolls.

Atemiwaza / striking techniques

All of these are required at each grade, but at a higher standard at each successive grade;-

Japanese	English	Notes
1. Oi Zuki	Lunge Punch	From Forward Stance / Zenkutsu Dachi
2. Age Uke	Rising Block
3. Uchi Ude Uke	Inside Forearm Block
4. Soto Ude Uke	Outside Forearm Block
5. Shuto Uke	Knife Hand Block	Soft, from Backstance / Kokutsu Dachi
6. Mae-Geri	Front Snap Kick	From Fighting Stance/Kumite Dach
7. Yoki Geri Keage	Side Snap Kick	From Horse Stance/Kiba Dachi
8. Yoko Geri Kekomi	Side thrust kick.	From Horse Stance/Kiba Dachi
9. (Orange + only) Mawashi Geri	Roundhouse kick	To pad or bag.

For yellow and above techniques demonstrated by “marching”, for orange also 3-point sparring with counter, for green 5-point sparring with counter.

Releases or controls

At-least one technique per attack for yellow belt, two for orange, three for green. From….

1. Single wrist grab.( Kata ta dori)

2. Opposite side wrist grab (Kata kosa dori)

3. Double wrist grab (two hands on one wrist) (Morote dori)

4. Double wrist grab (both hands) (Ryote dori)

5. Bearhug.

6. Gi/forward choke (Eri dori)

Nagewaza / Wide circle throws

Japanese	English	Notes
1. O Goshi	Major hip throw	From a mawashi-zuki attack
2. Ippon Seionage	Single shoulder throw
3. O Soto Gari	Major outer reaping
4. Koshi Garuma	Hip wheel
5. Sukui Nage	Scoop throw
6. Yoko Wakare	Side separation

Two competent techniques for yellow, four for orange, all six for green.

Small circle techniques

Japanese	English	Notes
1. ----	Wrist lock throw	From age zuke or stab. This is not Kote Gaeshi.
2. ----	Index finger lock
3. ----	Bent finger lock

One competent technique for yellow, two for orange, all three for green.

Kansetsuwaza / Locks

Japanese	English	Notes
1. Kote Gatame	Basic wristlock
2. Waki Gatame	Shoulder lock
3. Ude Gatame	Arm lock	Transition from shoulder lock.
4. ---	Goose neck hold
5. ---	Vertical wrist lock
6. ---	Extended wrist lock
7. ---	Bent elbow wrist lock	From extended wrist lock.
8. Ude hishigi juji gatame	Upper cross-arm armlock

Three competent techniques for yellow, six for orange, eight for green.

Shumewaza / Chokes

Japanese	English	Notes
1. Uri Hadaka Jime	Rear naked choke	Standing or on ground.
2. Ryote Jime	Double lapel choke.
3. Kata juji jime	Cross double lapel choke.

Not required for yellow, two techniques for orange, all three for green.

Flow drills

Five minutes, showing appropriate respect for the tori-uke relationship:

Yellow – chi sao (sticky hands) no strikes or legs.

Orange – chi sao (sticky hands) with strikes / locks, no legs

Green – chi sao (sticky hands) with strikes / locks / throw entries and use of legs.

Oral exam

Discuss with your examiner, and show an appropriate understanding of: tori-uke relationship, chi, ki-ai, meridians and pressure points, transitional flow, hard and soft, avoiding head on collision of forces, mobility and stability, club motto.

Additional for green belt (5^th kyu) only

- Demonstrate a warm-up consisting of at-least 6 warm-up exercises.

- Demonstrate a simple shiatsu treatment for a shoulder strain

- Demonstrate the Heian Nidan kata.

Download as PDF

4^th kyu grading syllabus

4^th kyu = purple belt

From lower syllabi

Demonstrate any techniques as required, to an appropriate standard, including use of transitional flow.

Warmup

- Demonstrate a warmup with at-least 8 exercises.

Atemiwaza / striking techniques + Pressure points

- Demonstrate appropriate use within techniques of TW11, GB20, LI18, PC7+H5

Kobudowaza / Weapons techniques

- Demonstrate and deflect basic types of knife attack at low speeds

- Eskrima single stick drill

Nagewaza / Wide circle throws

Japanese	English	Notes
1. Tai O Toshi	Body drop	From randori position
2. Ude Kime Nage	Arm Bar throw	(Aikido Ikkyo) With and without PP use.
3. Tenkan Nage	Turning throw	Any variant.

Kansetsuwaza / Locks

Japanese	English	Notes
1. Kote Gaeshi	Circling wrist	Show variations: lock, take-down, throw with appropriate care for uke.
2. -	Back shoulder lock
3. -	Chicken wing

Shumewaza / Chokes

Japanese	English	Notes
1.	Bent index finger choke	In front
2.	Small circle naked choke	From behind
3. Hiji Jimi	Elbow choke	On ground

Flow drills

- Five minutes, groundwork flow drill.

- Five minutes, continuous spacing with partner, kicking.

Kata

- Demonstrate the naihanchi kata.

Shiatsu

- Demonstrate a treatment for tension in the lower back.

Oral exam

Describe (generally) numbers, pattern and use of meridians, vessels and pressure points; use and reversal of rotation in techniques, reversal of flow in techniques; focussing to the smallest point; balance control; compounding of locks; yin and yang; use of kata in training.

Download as PDF

3rd kyu = blue belt

2nd kyu = brown belt

1st kyu = black / no dan

Watch this space!

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