Shorinji Kempo Gradings

Reflections on the first grading

What inspires the desire to spend a day travelling to and from London to put oneself through the anxieties and testing of a martial arts’ grading?

Many things.

A grading is a test, it is a public examination where, not only are your physical skills on show, but your martial spirit, your zanshin are under scrutiny from all and sundry. Much pop psychology is written about our so-called ‘comfort zones’ and it is quite clear that martial arts gradings take one way beyond the usual parameters of one’s normal day to day experiences.

Gradings are a confirmation that we are doing it right (hopefully) – we can test our skills and techniques under the harsh gaze of a senior instructor who sets the bench mark for excellence. If you are missing something you will be told and you will have to correct it for next time. There is a strong degree of self-checking and self-reliance, your instructor can only do so much to help you prepare for the test.

Another interesting element is that you might have to test against/with other kenshi who you have never trained with before; this tests one of the core principles of Shorinji Kempo that is ‘We love our comrades and help each other…’ and, ‘As comrades we pledge to help each other and cooperate for the accomplishment of these teachings’. Facing up with a newcomer and cooperating in a grading situation really asserts the core values of this principle.

The grading is not only demanding and slightly intimidating but it also deeply inspiring. There is a great sense of achievement (even if you don’t feel you have done enough to pass you still feel that you have done something ‘extra-ordinary’), a sense of being part of a valuable and authentic martial heritage and one has the opportunity to see what the next steps are in the journey.

Watching the senior kenshi and senseis being put through their paces was awe inspiring and a little daunting (so much to learn, so many terms to remember, so much sweat and pain!!). The level of skills demonstrated was deeply motivating – we are all made from the same basic materials, if they can do it then so might I.

Mentioning ‘seniors’ leads to an interesting observation – at 52 I felt that I was pretty ‘old’ for martial arts but I was approached by two other guys taking their gradings – one was 75 and another remarkable gentleman was 78 years young. Now that is inspiring!!

Preparation is a key element in feeling confident for the grading. I felt quite confident because we had been put through our paces at our own dojo and we had put in a bit of extra training to help go over the terminology and the movements. Working with a training partner in the grading certainly helped with rapport and familiarity and meant that mistakes were minimised. Studying the terms, listening to our senior kenshi and our sensei and using all of the excellent websites helped immensely in the lead up to the grading.

On the day – arrive with plenty of time to warm up and get the feel of the place. We met and spoke to the other white belts and ran through our grading techniques with them. A number of the black belts took time out to speak to us and this certainly helped towards making you feel part of the whole team. Listen carefully to all of the instructions and don’t be afraid of asking for the commands to be repeated if you didn’t understand them the first time. Show plenty of zanshin and martial spirit – Sensei Cailey Barker advised that it is important to make the techniques look realistic avoid making them too prepared, too choreographed. If you make a mistake don’t panic – stop, take stock and try again. There seems to be quite fine line between trying hard and putting everything into it and keeping a balanced, measured, controlled mindfulness. Above all – enjoy the experience and feel proud at having accomplished something out of the ordinary.

-- Written by Nick Spalding