Graduations are extremely important events at Family Martial Arts Centres and are held every six times a year.
Graduations for Leadership students are a way for you to demonstrate that you have learnt the syllabus content for any particular period & that you are progressing as martial artist. They are the way in which you gain your next belt level & move along the journey towards your Black Belt & beyond.
Tiger Graduations are not a test - It is a great opportunity for reward and recognition for our youngest members. In this programme they don’t have to be expert to progress to the next belt as the new belt will help with confidence and motivation.
Students from all Family Martial Arts Centres across the North West graduate together at the same venue, watched and supported by their friends and family and is a great opportunity to show everyone what we have been learning over the past couple of months in class. It is at these events that students are awarded their next coloured belt and certificate of progression.
Your Instructor will be able to tell you if you have reached the required level & attended enough classes.
How do you know when they are?
Graduation dates & times are announced within class, posted on the notice board, appear on our Facebook page & Wix app and are listed on our website
You're a bit worried you might not be ready?
In that case, speak to your Instructor & they will tell you if you are ready or not. Although Graduations at an early level are not a test, students are only allowed to attend if their Instructor believes them to be ready.
All students should be guided by the advice of their Instructor. Remember, they have already gone through all the graduations ahead of you and so have a wealth of experience in this area! If they say you should go to graduation, then it will be because they think you are good enough. But, we know from our Leadership Book that goal setting is important in ANY walk of life, so you can see why it is used to create small manageable goals (next belt level) to achieve an overall long term target (black belt).
Students from all Family Martial Arts Centres across the North West graduate together (by rank/belt level) at the same venue, watched and supported by their friends and family, so you will be in amongst your peers and be working with other students of the same level.
Do you have to graduate?
Not at all - they are not compulsory; however, progression through the various ranks/belt levels requires you to demonstrate competence at the syllabus - This is done at Graduations.
However, in order to achieve anything significant in life, it’s helpful to set yourself goals - those smaller steps towards a bigger target. We talk about this in the Leadership Book in sections such as ‘Strategy’ & ‘Planning’. In martial arts, that target will often be ‘get to Black Belt’ - the goals are therefore progression through the coloured belts awarded at Graduations.
Movement from the Beginners Class to the Intermediate Class occurs as students progress from Blue Belt to Green Belt. Beginners should be able to progress to Green Belt level after approximately 8 months of their martial arts journey.
But it’s not up to your instructors to get you to any given level - it is up to YOU. Yes, you will need competent instruction, but you have to walk the path - you need to ‘do the doing’. Tang Soo Do means Way of the Hand of China/Tang and so there is a path to be walked and you will be guided/led down it, but not dragged along it. ‘Teaching’ and ‘learning’ in martial arts works much the same way as in other areas - someone will do a lot of teaching, but you have to do a lot of learning, so be an active learner. My point is that it is up to you - if you want to achieve a certain target, you will need to work actively towards that goal.
How do you get involved?
Students wishing to Graduate must submit a Grading Form online, together with their fees by the designated due date.
Did you know?
You can get a FREE graduation when you get another student to sign up. Speak to your Instructor if you want to claim another student