Gradings

At D J Judo school we adopt the old grading system of white belt thru to brown belt instead of the new red through to brown. Also we prefer to grade from within, using the clubs own grading syllabus and not the one used by the BJA.

Being a former Judoka – I know how much hard, dedicated training and effort is needed to progress up the belts. The recreational Judo and training we do here would make it extremely difficult to progress up the grading ladder using the BJA syllabus. With approximately 40 minutes mat time and lessons only once a week during school term time it’s nothing compared to clubs that train 2 or 3 times a week – 2 hours at a time!
Grades are not necessarily based on how much a student knows or the skill they possess.

D J Judo school focus’ on discipline, high attendance, punctuality, understanding of rules and safety, the etiquette of Judo and a willingness to learn. Of course knowledge and skill level are still important keys to good Judo, but the rest is the base level to a developing Judoka.

On average a new student will begin Judo and spend 3 academic years learning the art. In this time I would like for them to have spent those few years achieving grades that would otherwise take them 6 or 7 years. I’m hoping this will keep them interested in the sport whilst at D J Judo but also continue Judo for many years after. Also I would like to feel Judo has instilled confidence in a young Judoka by not just reaching academic achievements in school but also sporting achievements too.

The downside of this way of grading when a student decides to continue Judo after Junior School is that he or she would need to start from a beginner grade. From experience this has proved not to be a problem which is why many of my ex – pupils continue the sport at higher level clubs.