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\”I did not diss, slam, or flex, nor did anyone else. How can we attempt to provide a quality answer with only half the information?\”
Okay, maybe my comments were a little harsh, I appologize. I was just sensitive to BBB’s point because I’ve been there and experienced the same thing. Moving from and area where the Krav training was great to an area where the Krav was substandard and at a much higher cost. I also experienced the \”half belt\” promotion system in Taekwondo. You pay to test for a \”recommended\” next belt and then pay to test for the \”decided\” belt. I always felt it was a way to get more $$$ out of the students.
I can see your point. It does seem unfair, but I don’t think it is deceptive. The question remains…how much does the NTC charge to test?
Anyone out there profitting from half rank exams/curricula is dubiously suspect and likely has not received NTC’s permission to do so.
Our school offers \”basic\” LI and \”advanced\” LI. Not my idea, and not my preference either. However, there is no testing to get from one to the other, simply a matter of attendance.
BBB makes some good points.
I wonder if those schools sign a type of contract before they are allowed to open and use the KMAA’s logo to attract students to their place? I do believe the training and testing standards should be uniform and there should be a way to discipline schools, or even close them down at some point, if they don’t comply. It might also help to try and build schools that are primarily dedicated to the system, and find a way to phase out the ones that seem to be interested in their own system first and use Krav Maga solely as a way of making money.
As for testing fees at the NTC, yes there are some, which usually include a workshop. Used to be that workshop and test were held together, now it looks as though they are having the workshop a week or two (or more?) before the test. Workshop costs something, the test costs something, the higher the belt, the more it usually costs (because the workshops and tests will be longer). I’m not sure how much you’ll pay for yellow belt at the moment, but maybe around 40$ for the test and I’m not sure if it’s mandatory to take the workshop or not.
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GiantkillerThe point of the question is that if the ntc charges say $50 for a workshop and $50 for a test per belt, that’s $100 per test. If Brian’s school charges $50 per belt and $50 per half belt…then the point is moot.
to ViCious:
i hate to break it to you, while you may \”KNOW you’re a black belt\”, you’re not.
you may know black belt material, you may be good at it. but until you test for it – and use those techniques under the stress ONLY a black belt test can give you, you’re kidding yourself… and you are detracting from those that have actually gone thru the process by putting yourself in the same category.
I retract my statement.
i didn’t intend to offend anyone.
i was expressing my personal internal belief that allows me to continue to train without access to high levels of testing.
it should have stayed internal.
I never \”Say\” Iím a black belt or even try to imply that Iíve earn the rank.
More than anyone it was encouragement to the OP to realize that if proper testing is not available it is the skills and self-actualization that matter.
i was not trying to discourage testing for a black belt… i would LOVE to myself… i actually ENCOURAGE testing… it’s just unrealistic at this point in my life for several reasons.
Strange, My other account was made \”inactive.\” I couldn’t get on with it, just a day after posting. Still no repliest from the Powers That Be on this subject of half belts, so I guess its a non-issue with them. Silence speaks volumes. I’m guessing there is no standard or quality control. I’d better quit asking difficult questions before this account too is made \”inactive.\” 😯
(hides in the shadows)My school has also just switched to a multi-belt w/ half belts system which includes testing every quarter. Also just combined teens w/ the adults (safety and training intensity issue in my opinion). I sure miss the level 1, 2 etc system we used when I started.
Are there any rules a school must follow as far as combining kids and adults or the ranking structure?
Not really. My school has always had everyone over 16 in the same class together. There is clearly an intensity thing there, but I have seen that it is really good for the kids. When they can spar and hang with someone twice their age, it is a huge confidende builder.
Sort of related. That is one thing that I found very dissapointing when I was taking TKD. The school originally had seperate kids and adult classes, both colored belts and Black Belts. They would let 14/15 year olds in the adult classes if they were mature enough and took the training seriously. But, after a while they changed their class scheduled and combined the kids and adults Black Belt classes. There ended up being more kids (maybe twice as many) as adults. Not only did I find it hard to train, but the instructors developed a tendency to \”teach to the kids\”. I was so glad when the school introduced Krav Maga. Once I started that, I stopped the TKD classes.
I would be upset if this meant that I was not able to attend certain classes or was not able to learn certain techniques because of having half belts. What is the next step, quarter belt tests?
Personally this sounds very similar to the midterm seminars mentioned on another thread. The time to sure up techniques is class time. That is how it is where I train. If someone is doing something incorrectly, the instructor tells them during the drill. Also, if many people are making the same mistakes, we frequently pause the drill to go over the details and then restart it to correct it.
On a side note, I had been level 2 for about 4 months and I was transferred for a 6 month assignment for work. I found a krav place close to my hotel and made sure that I communicated to them that I needed to test for level 3 at some time during those 6 months before I left, since I knew the people at my home school would test while I was gone and I needed to keep up. I may have sounded like a jerk when I walked in there with this demand, but they were really good about it. I later found out that the school I was going to did not really separate the classes based on levels, so they would teach anything in any class. If this were the case in my home school, I probably would not really care to test, but I had to get to level 3 before I got back so that I could have access to the upper classes at my home school. Long story short is the my temporary school actually started scheduling more regular tests towards the end of my 6 months there, and I like to think I might have had something to do with it.
It seems strange that there appear to be so many differences between individual schools. Shouldn’t there be one standard that applies to everybody?
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GiantkillerI think one standard is what they intended from all the reading I have done. It seems though, that like me, people are finding themselves in difficult situations caused by the different systems and individual styles. I was originally attracted to Krav b/c I was under the assumption that it was one standard and that the integrity hadn’t been comprimised by the system allowing schools and instructors to sway from the curriculum and do their own things. Actually it was more than an assumption, thats exactly how it was marketed to me by the websites and the school. It isn’t what I have experienced though.
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