skipping belts???

[Gerry Seymour]

At the lower ranks, double promoting isn't really a big deal IMO. In my previous school, I double promoted twice in color belts. I learned the required curriculum from my Sensei for the next rank before the test. Why did he teach me it? I was in class 4-5 nights per week, usually taking class twice each time (being a single college student, I had some down time). He taught me higher rank stuff when I was ready to learn it, not when some arbitrary time schedule demanded it.

I've double promoted twice in my current school. I know most of the curriculum up to 2nd dan due to my previous school being an offshoot of my current one. My current teacher's mentality is why hold me back if I've demonstrated the required skill level.

He asked me how I felt about double promoting a 3rd time, and I told him it doesn't matter to me. I'm not in any hurry to get anywhere (rank wise), and I'm improving, so what's the difference.

Keep in mind this has always been at the kyu level, not at dan level. But let's say I was a 5th dan is system A, and went to system B that was extremely close to system A, should a teacher be criticized for awarding me an equal or near equal rank if I proficienly demonstrated all necessary requirements for said rank?

IMO as long as the student meets all requirements for the rank, then there's no reason to hold the student back. So long as their skills aren't questionable, they've earned the rank. Give it to them and move on. Holding someone back solely due to a time schedule doesn't make much more sense than promoting someone solely due to a time schedule.

I think double-promoting is more likely in two situations:

1) Like yours, where someone comes in with other knowledge of the art. If someone came to my school from the mainline of the art, I'd likely be able to move them along very quickly to an equivalent rank in Shojin-ryu.

2) Schools with periodic testing. The schools I've trained at always had individual testing, but some schools/styles use periodic testing (once a year, etc.) for the entire school. In this periodic format, it's not at all inconceivable that a student could prepare two ranks' worth of material between tests.

Note that individually-scheduled testing tends to negate the need for double-promotion. My wife, for instance, has several years' experience in the mainline of our art. She was inactive for a while, so had some significant brushing-up to do, but she's moving faster now. I won't ever need to double-promote her, since I simply test whenever a student is ready to be tested. She just finished testing for her yellow belt about 3 weeks ago, and I expect to test her for orange in a couple of months. The same would hold true if I had an active black belt from the mainline come in. I'd probably just be testing them every month until they caught up their rank. I could reduce the rate of promotions by double-promoting, but if I'm going to do that, I'll probably start them with a yellow belt and let them wear it until I can test them to black.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Thinking back, I had a student who was a first Dan and left for ten years. He chose to come back as a white belt and re test for ranks. He was tested 2 Gup levels at a time.

 

[Balrog]

Whenever I have someone come in from another style, if they are pretty high rank, I'll let them double-promote their way up to the equivalent rank in our style. Since they already know the basics, it's a matter of learning the forms, one-steps, etc.

 

[Jeff_Beish]

Funny, back in January 1961 I went to the Butokuden (Naha, Okinawa) as a Judo sankyu to attend a promotion contest. Since my Okinawan or Japanese was not very good then I got into the wrong signup line and ended up fighting in the Ikkyu tatami area, and won all my matches and was awarded Ikkyu. Several months later my Nisei friend read the certificate and laughed; I was as surprised as he was. Some time later, when in Japan, I was awarded shodan at the Kodokan during a promotion contest. Guess I skipped along the line, but I had practice Judo for 9 years but then.

 

[Jeff_Beish]

Funny, back in January 1961 I went to the Butokuden (Naha, Okinawa) as a Judo sankyu to attend a promotion contest. Since my Okinawan or Japanese was not very good then I got into the wrong signup line and ended up fighting in the Ikkyu tatami area, and won all my matches and was awarded Ikkyu. Several months later my Nisei friend read the certificate and laughed; I was as surprised as he was. Some time later, when in Japan, I was awarded shodan at the Kodokan during a promotion contest. Guess I skipped along the line, but I had practice Judo for 9 years but then.

Oops, guess I got into the wrong thread. Always missing my place