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STUDENT & INSTRUCTOR GRADING POLICY

Grading Guidelines Within The British Academy of Krav Maga.

Introduction

In most if not all combat systems, the progress of a student is marked with a series of colours (whether this be the colour of the belt, a badge or even the colour of the students uniform).

Within the British Academy of Krav Maga (hereon known as BAKM) it is the colour of the logo on the T shirt which signifies the grade with qualifying students receiving a new T shirt with the respective coloured logo when they are made up a grade, with beginners starting with a white logo on a black T shirt.

Grading colours are then given in order of recognition: White, Yellow, Orange, Red, Green, Blue, Purple, Brown and Black.

Black grades receive a degree stripe (also known as a Dan) which is added below the logo every 2 years based upon acquiring the relevant skills & teaching ability & having contributed to the further development of the BAKM organisation.

TIMELINE FOR GRADING

In general terms, between each grade it normally takes anything from around 3 to 9 months for white, yellow, orange, red and green grades and then 6 months to a year for blue and then a year or more between each of the purple, brown & black grades & a further 2 years between the black grade degree stripes (Dan’s).

HOW DO WE GRADE?

Within BAKM we believe that both an informal and yet conservative approach to grading students should apply and so on the one hand we do not have specific test days where students will turn up to be graded (having usually paid a fee) but rather we prefer applying a constant assessment of student’s performance and promote in class or on a course when we deem it is deserved rather than paid for &  then only charge for the new t shirt and any other accompanying paraphernalia (wrist bands, certificates etc) that the student may receive upon promotion.

To achieve above, we have 4 main areas we are constantly looking at to be promoted

  1.  Knowledge
  2. Application
  3. Fitness
  4. Attitude

 

Knowledge

Knowledge refers to knowing the relevant curriculum / techniques & theory for the grade a student is hoping to be promoted to, without this there is no point in grading at all.

Application

Application refers to a student’s ability to apply these techniques under various degrees of pressure (shown in controlled sparring & assailant sessions).

Fitness

Fitness is a key element that we want to see has improved. We identify any weaknesses such as lack of cardio, flexibility or agility for example and work to improve these where needed obviously making allowances for age and / or injury / disability.

Attitude

Attitude refers to a student’s character in reaction to challenges that maybe set them in class, whether this be fitness testing, sparring or helping others. We constantly assess this and will not promote or even train a student who we believe is lacking in good attitude & comradeship

BAKM INSTRUCTOR SCHEME

Within above students are further qualified as instructors upon attending and passing our instructor training course. 

The instructor scheme allows regular school students to achieve this through 2 pathways:

  1. Grading promotion through attendance and passing of an instructor training course that covers both the baseline Self Defence and baseline Krav Maga syllabus over 4 days.
  2. Promotion through attendance of regular classes within an affiliated BAKM school coupled with attendance of the above instructor course (regular school members or private clients who already attained grades can attend this course at a reduced price).

Upon reaching Krav Maga instructor status the respective instructor is then able to teach and grade other students up to 1 grade below their own grade, so for example a blue grade instructor can promote up to green, a purple to blue and so on.

However, please note that the crucial part “instructor status” is only given upon completion of the above instructor course and any insurance without these phases accomplished would be invalid.

GRADING FOR CHILDREN TAKING UP KRAV MAGA WITH BAKM

The ranks for children are different. Blue grade and higher ranks have age requirements (must be over 16) and so children have the following ranks beginning with White, Yellow, Orange, Red and Green with the highest rank being a blue belt which can only be issued to them when they are over 16 (when they can also join the adult groups for training).

OUR BELIEF IN RELATION TO GRADING ASSESSMENTS WITHIN BAKM

The success of BAKM Krav Maga as an effective combative system is largely due to its teaching and these grading methods which, as well as drills, techniques and fitness, places such a large emphasis on live sparring and pressure scenarios to test an individual’s performance.

The individuals performance and skill level is one of the key foundations of grading & it is an accepted principle to never promote a student before they are of a skill level equal to or higher than others of a similar age and size.

This ensures that students are promoted conservatively and are representing BAKM Krav Maga and their affiliated school as best as possible.

This policy of conservatism is a key aspect in making BAKM Krav Maga one of the most effective Krav Maga systems available.