Parent’s Page

Belt testing & promotion is a ritual as old as the martial arts. It is a time for instructors and students to take stock of their progress and when ready earn their new rank through a defined promotion process.

Because our dojo has a larger student base, we currently conduct belt testing on a monthly basis (some schools test quarterly or semi-annually). Belt testing typically occurs on the 3rd Thursday of the month during “stripe testing week” (although we move it sometimes due to holidays and other schedule conflicts).

Students become eligible for belt testing & promotion through the combination of attendance, effort and skill development. There are also other requirements related to character development, input from parents and teachers, and other factors that we consider.

Each belt rank requires a certain number of classes and time in training (reference the Belt Stripe Promotion Process document for details). Each month, students have the opportunity to earn a black progress stripe or red belt testing qualification stripe. The number of black progress stripes required for each belt rank changes as your rank gets closer to black belt. When you have met the requirements, you will receive a red qualification stripe – which means you will be testing for your new belt during that month’s belt graduation class (Thursday).

To receive their black progress or red qualification stripe, students attend stripe testing classes (their regular classes during stripe testing week) and will be awarded the stripe appropriate to their level of progress (black or red). Don’t worry, the instructor team handles all of this – just come to class during stripe testing week and we’ll take it from there. And if you see a red stripe – make sure you bring the whole family to graduation!

Make-up testing: We realize that there are times when a student may miss stripe or belt graduation. If that happens, speak to the head instructor and we’ll schedule a make-up test.

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