 Last week we talked about the experience of failing the belt test, but today we're going to talk about being the instructor and having to fail a student. I want to preface this episode by acknowledging that a significant portion of our viewers are not only lifelong martial artists, but our instructors and teachers as well. That being said, I don't intend to approach this topic as if you are new to teaching and have never failed a student before. I'm sure that many of you have experienced in testing students. I feel that there is just so much focus and content out there about passing tests and training that it's easy to neglect the instructor's point of view. I certainly have my own experience as teaching and testing, which I will share a few of them, and I invite all of you to share your experiences and perspectives as well, because I think it could be extremely beneficial to those who are currently training to know what tests are like from the other point of view. I have also seen some instructors say and do things regarding tests that I don't feel are productive or actually work to the value of the testing process. Okay, so from an instructor's point of view, what are we looking for when we test a student? I cannot speak for every school or every one, but when I was teaching kids, I can tell you what we looked for. And this goes for both black belts and regular grade testing. First and foremost, of course, the students need to know their material. That's a given. There's usually a set curriculum required for each testing period, and the student is expected to know it. The level of proficiency on that material is a little more flexible. If the student is just starting their training, they are still grasping the core concepts and basic elements of the system. Then they shouldn't be expected to understand the material at the same depth or level that a grandmaster would. They should be able to know why they're doing what they're doing and at least have the technical aspects about them, but it'll be far from a perfect technique. More experienced students will, of course, be expected to be more proficient. But even for black belts, perfection isn't always what we're looking for. Forms and codders will have technical specifications that should be met, but the self-defense portion is a different animal. A kata is academic. A self-defense technique is more practical. One is theory or a study note, and the other is meant for the actual application in the field. Awareness and the ability to make a judgment call on the fly is more important than being textbook accurate. You can study law all you want, and you can be technically precise and knowledgeable in previous cases, but your ability to adapt to a new challenge in the courtroom to be able to construct your argument based on information given to you in that moment is what makes a difference. And that's what the academic side is teaching you to begin with. We taught our students self-defense techniques. Now, I'm not looking to see how perfect or accurate they perform those techniques. I'm looking at how they handle themselves when it goes wrong, especially with the children. I want to see how they react when their uke doesn't respond the way that they're supposed to, or if they miss with a strike or they stumble or step wrong. Do they freeze or start over or do they improvise? We had one test where a girl was working for a junior black belt, and the technique she was performing involved using the knee strike to roll open an attacker's centerline for the subsequent strike. The only problem though was, in a gut reaction, her uke anticipated it, and he turned his body in a way where she couldn't access the knee. Without missing the beat, she threw a different kick to his hip that rolled him in the opposite direction and actually exposed the centerline, and she was able to complete the next strike. She adjusted on the fly to reposition him where she wanted without having to stop or start over. That was what I wanted to see. Don't stop and start over, deal with what's given to you, and make it work. We're also looking for endurance and focus. It's okay that you get tired during the test. You're supposed to get tired. Some arts have black belt tests that are insane and will break you if you let it, but we don't expect you to have unlimited energy. Instead, again, we're looking to see how you handle being tired. Attitude. Attitude is a big deal and perhaps the most important thing on the day of testing itself. Yes, technique, skill, and endurance are extremely important, but if you're standing in front of us at a test, then we already likely know where you are with all of that. But your attitude and character is a big deal in your actual tests, or even deciding to let you test. We failed one kid on his test two months in a row. He was a brown belt and he knew his material decently enough, but he was acting up terribly outside of the class, and he was actually abusing his skills and being rough with the other students. We explained that how he conducts himself and uses the material, factors into his test, and we weren't going to allow him to pass if he acted like that. We also had a young kid in class who was with us for about four years, but he had taken the previous year off and was out of the country. When they came back, his parents suddenly decided that he had been long enough and asked us to go ahead and test it for his junior black belt. Never mind the fact that for an entire year, he hadn't been there, and he had forgotten half his material as it was. All of us at the school agreed that we would not test him, and we reminded the parents that he was still at least two belts away from junior black belt. He didn't have all his material, which would easily take another year. And we had other students who had been waiting patiently for their turn to test, and it would not have been fair nor the best example to set if we let their kid just jump ahead of them because they were antsy about it. They didn't like it, but ultimately they kept their kid in class and he did it in his junior black belt two years later when he earned it. As an instructor, it is your choice to pass or fail a student. Do not let yourself be pressured into testing someone you don't feel is ready and don't be afraid to hurt their feelings by denying them. You're teaching them a skill in self-defense. It's not about giving them everything they want. This student will be representing you in your school, so make it count. So I think there are a lot of reasonable expectations for passing someone on the test or holding them back. But unfortunately, sometimes it's not always reasonable and you shouldn't just promote someone just for the sake of promoting them. I knew an adult black belt years back who felt it had been long enough at first hand and he felt it was time to start testing for his second. I kind of got the impression he was dropping hints to see if I would volunteer to test him. I did not because I remembered a conversation he and I had earlier that year. He was commenting about learning under a previous instructor and he said, and I quote, I don't care about the concepts or principles, I just wanted to learn the moves. Long enough isn't reason enough. Can there be a wrong reason to hold someone back? Sure. And based on what I've seen, it comes down to personal violence against the person. Your students should pass or fail tests based on meeting your school's requirements, not generally about how well you like them or not. I've seen instructors hold people back just as a personal grudge or for reasons outside the material and I'm sorry, but that's wrong and it's an abuse of power. I'm very disappointed to say that my first instructor fell into this category shortly before he left. If there was a student he didn't like or care for, he would hold them back intentionally or ignore any special needs or medical conditions. As I mentioned in the last week's video, he was purposely not promoting an assistant instructor to Black Belt because they got paid more to lead classes. So his motivation was money, not the assistant skill, which to be honest was way past first and in my opinion. I also sat in on the testing panel for the kids classes and a group of kids testing for the junior Black Belt. There was one little boy that my instructor just did not like and this kid did just as well in the test as everyone else, but he was nervous and when this kid got nervous, he smiled. At the end of the test, when he's given everyone their belts, he says to this kid in front of everyone, class, friends, family, you were too goofing your test so I'm not going to pass you. This poor kid was crushed and the mother took him out of the school. I saw the grin on my instructor's face after that and honestly, he lost some of my respect that day. If you feel that a student does not meet requirements, that's one thing, but don't let personal bias play a determining factor. The dojo was supposed to be a place of growth and character building. Students are expected to leave any personal drama outside the doors. You expect them to separate their lives and prejudices from their martial arts training. Well, guess what? The same goes for us too. When they are on the mat, they are on the mat and you are on the mat with them. Keep personal drama out of the training. And final thought, if you're going to hold the student back from promoting, try to be productive about it. Let them know why they're being held back or any trouble areas you want to see worked on. They are interesting you with their training and essentially their lives and they represent your school. Let them know why they aren't passing and give them a call to action so they can take steps to improve. Especially with children, you can still be positive and supportive when holding someone back. Make it a learning experience and something to value rather than being an authoritarian about. So I would like to invite all instructors watching to please give your feedback and share your experiences and let me know if I've left something out. Teaching the martial arts carries a lot of responsibility and I thank all of you so much for your commitment and dedication out there to keeping the arts alive.