Testing...in quarantine

[Jaeimseu]

We are going to conduct belt testing in small groups via Zoom. We are modifying the requirements somewhat to accommodate not being able to use partners. I consider it a service to my student community. Parents and kids alike are looking for a return to some kind of normalcy. If I can give my students some encouragement and motivation with some flexibility on a test, I’m all in.


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[JR 137]

Here’s a question I just thought of...

Let’s say you test them online and they pass. What about the new belt? Do you mail it to them?

 

[Jaeimseu]

I’m going to deliver belts and certificates myself in a social distancing compliant fashion.


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[dvcochran]

I’m going to deliver belts and certificates myself in a social distancing compliant fashion.


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Smart.

 

[dvcochran]

We are going to conduct belt testing in small groups via Zoom. We are modifying the requirements somewhat to accommodate not being able to use partners. I consider it a service to my student community. Parents and kids alike are looking for a return to some kind of normalcy. If I can give my students some encouragement and motivation with some flexibility on a test, I’m all in.


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I have been wondering if all this social distancing will create a new kind of training where people, by choice or too far away to attend formal classes will participate via Zoom or some other tool. It creates a plethora of challenges to overcome.

I could see a temporary (hopefully) wave of this kind of thinking but I think people will realize some things just have to be done in person and require tactile interaction. I feel this tracks for most of the disposable income service industries.

 

[skribs]

I have been wondering if all this social distancing will create a new kind of training where people, by choice or too far away to attend formal classes will participate via Zoom or some other tool. It creates a plethora of challenges to overcome.

I could see a temporary (hopefully) wave of this kind of thinking but I think people will realize some things just have to be done in person and require tactile interaction. I feel this tracks for most of the disposable income service industries.

I can kind of see it working, but at the same time I think it would be difficult. We've got a temporary setup in our dojang right now that places a laptop and projector in the middle of our mat. My Master, myself, and one other instructor are the only people there, so we don't need to use the full space. We'd need a permanent setup that's out of the way.

There are also some differences in how we handle class. For example, we have to slow down our forms at certain points when it's harder to see us. We have to adjust some of the things we do because our students are attending class from smaller apartments.

I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but there's a few hurdles to jump through. And even then, we run into the problems that they can't get tactile feedback or sparring.

 

[dvcochran]

I can kind of see it working, but at the same time I think it would be difficult. We've got a temporary setup in our dojang right now that places a laptop and projector in the middle of our mat. My Master, myself, and one other instructor are the only people there, so we don't need to use the full space. We'd need a permanent setup that's out of the way.

There are also some differences in how we handle class. For example, we have to slow down our forms at certain points when it's harder to see us. We have to adjust some of the things we do because our students are attending class from smaller apartments.

I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but there's a few hurdles to jump through. And even then, we run into the problems that they can't get tactile feedback or sparring.

Agree. feedback and confirmation that a skill is being properly practiced is the greatest challenge to me. I cannot count the times I have said/explained or shown a skill only to find a person still does not get it until we go hands on. Just human nature I suppose.

 

[skribs]

Agree. feedback and confirmation that a skill is being properly practiced is the greatest challenge to me. I cannot count the times I have said/explained or shown a skill only to find a person still does not get it until we go hands on. Just human nature I suppose.

And also with the young children we work with, it would be extra difficult without the ability to physically control them. Sometimes it's hard to explain something and you have to help them with a technique a few times. Some of our younger kids tend to wander off in the middle of class over the video.

Then you've got distractions, like a baby brother who keeps blocking the camera and screen, dogs that want to play, family members arguing in the background...

 

[Jaeimseu]

The situation stinks, but it has been/continues to be a wonderful opportunity to improve/learn and develop new communication skills. Learning how to incorporate technology could also yield dividends as a way to add value to what we already did before Covid-19.


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[Gerry Seymour]

And also with the young children we work with, it would be extra difficult without the ability to physically control them.

Virtual duct tape.

 

[skribs]

Well, we started testing yesterday, we will finish today. Normally, testing is a 3-4 day process, but we're getting it done in 2 this time. Part of that is a few things won't be on the test - things that take up lots of space or require a partner (like sparring), or things that require materials we would have in the dojang (such as the stands for board breaking). I know, I know, we're not testing them on everything...but it's one test. They'll get tested on that stuff next time. There's a lot of stuff in the curriculum that doesn't get tested every time for black belts, for right now everyone gets the treatment.

However, this is a much smaller test than I'm used to. We usually have anywhere from around 70-85 students testing. Smaller tests have around 60-70, bigger tests have around 85-110, but it's usually in the 70-85 range. We have a total of 32 people testing this week. Which makes sense, considering we have around 1/3 to 1/2 the active students that we usually do, and a lot of students were pretty much ready to test when we entered quarantine.

Some of the biggest challenges that students had doing virtual testing instead of in-person testing:

1. Space. Some students are practicing in small rooms with lots of furniture, giving them a very narrow amount of space to do their forms. We wanted them to still use their deep stances, but to adjust their footwork so they can keep from hitting the walls or going off-camera. For the most part, they were able to adjust.
2. Direction. A couple of our really young kids (4 years old) who struggle with the forms in the dojang were completely out of sorts at home. I used this as a learning moment to give them advice on how to work on their forms at home.
3. Grappling. The grappling part of our curriculum has not been communicated effectively at all from home. I used to hold the opinion that you can't learn anything useful at home, based on a video by Chewjitsu on Youtube of his inability to learn BJJ from home. However, I have adjusted my opinion to be that you can't learn grappling by video. You can quite easily learn the striking techniques, footworks, and combinations (you would then go to class to train applying those techniques).
4. Communication. Some students didn't have good microphones or speakers, making it difficult to communicate. Even worse, there were times we would give directions to one student to fix a mistake (such as a direction they turned during the form), but other students wouldn't realize they were supposed to wait and would follow the direction. Or, once we were addressing everyone again, they would assume we were still giving targeted directions and would still be waiting.
5. Etiquette. It's been hard to enforce dojang etiquette online. Things like sitting with proper posture on the floor instead of slouching on the couch. (At this point, it would be more distracting to everyone if we were to enforce it). It's easier when you're sitting on the mat without a couch, and when the other students are sitting proper. It's also probably more difficult because the students just see us sitting at the judges table, instead of being able to watch the other belts do their forms and techniques.

Overall, I'm glad we did this. There are some students that really needed to move on to the next class. They're ready to learn new stuff, and they're ready to be pushed harder on what they already know. The way our classes are structured, you get a better understanding of your basics in the higher belts, because we apply them in more ways, and we go through the techniques at a faster pace. Those issues we had doing the online testing are things we'll clean up when we get back to doing class in person. I don't feel our standards were any different, with the main exception of the grappling and the things we didn't test; but those standards will be right back on the next test.

One thing my Master said yesterday, is next time we would have to cancel class because of weather (i.e. snow and unsafe driving conditions), we could do virtual classes again. It also gives us more flexibility if he has to travel, i.e. to go to Kukkiwon (although in that case, he could just leave me in charge again). Now we have a strategy to reduce the amount of unplanned closures we may have.