Having reached 1st kyu Brown belt, the minimum requirement to attempt Shodan-Ho is 50 classes and 6 months.

How quickly a student grades largely depends on three factors:

  • The student’s frequency of training.
  • The student’s intensity at training.
  • The student’s focus during training.

For a detailed description of these three components, visit the introduction area of our Journey Section.

Having obtained your 1st kyu, the time has come for you set a plan to achieve the grade that you have dreamed about for many years – Shodan-Ho (Provisional Black Belt). By no means does this imply that you should be in a rush to grade, or lack patience in developing your skills, understanding and overall progress. It merely suggests that you should start to focus on what skills and abilities are required for the next part of your journey and set an action plan in place to start developing these.

Its only when we are chasing something that we are happiest, most focused and on track to reach our potential.

Questions An Instructor Asks Before Grading Someone To Shodan-Ho

  • Has this student continued to develop their ability in their basic techniques?
  • Has this student continued to develop their ability in all previous kata?
  • Have they developed the key principles within these kata (ie do they show up in other areas of their karate)?
  • Have they developed a solid understanding and do they demonstrate sound ability in kata Sanseru?
  • Have they developed a basic understanding of, and can they adequately demonstrate kata Sepai?
  • Does this person demonstrate the etiquette and attitudes of an advanced karate-ka?