UKKFF Grading Seminars, Summer Term 2006
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The weekend of 19th & 20th August 2006 saw around 60 students of the UKKFF visit the New Malden HQ and our Wimbledon school in order to attempt the practical tests for their current programme of instruction. This was the third set of gradings since the UK Kung-Fu Federation began implementing a new teaching & testing structure for students, and at each the standard had improved. We were eager to see if the trend continued in this, the summer term gradings of 2006. At this point we must apologise for not managing to get photographs of everyone who tested - sorry to anyone we missed out.
Testing for intermediate & advanced level students took place on the Saturday at our HQ. Intermediate students were tested individually on their forms & Chi-Sao & basic technique, then in pairs for their Lat-Sao applications. Advanced level students each had a purely individual test covering all of their syllabus - at this level there should be nowhere to hide! Around 22 students passed through during the day in grade-groups in order to receive a personal test from the examiners, and we were extremely pleased to see that the standard had not slipped one bit from previous gradings. There was also a noticeable improvement in the quality & precision of the forms, and applications were much more dynamic. This reflected our change in emphasis within general classes, as students study to become more comfortable with increased pressure & motion.
Then on Sunday it was the turn of those students at the basic level of WingTsun Kung-Fu who chose to attempt a test. As usual we used the venue of our Wimbledon school to cater for the greater numbers involved. Each grade group were tested in turn for form, footwork, striking ability, basic techniques, applications & theory of the art, and because we only catered for two grade-groups at a time (1-2SG in the morning, then 3-4SG in the afternoon) everyone felt that they worked hard and were scrutinised personally by the examiners. Once again the standard had improved, especially in the area of applications - all students were moving far better within each grade's material, and it was proving much more difficult to hit them! This is a Really Good Thing indeed!
For future gradings things should improve still further, not least because we now have our new UKKFF Licence & Membership Books which list the key test components for each student programme. Coupled with the syllabus & term-planners which are already available free-of-charge to all members via our Student Resources Area it means that every student should know exactly what's expected of them, and help them to attain the required standard. We are working hard to add more information to each grade's resource area too, so that pictures of the techniques, the form sequences, the footwork and more are all available free to our members to help them learn. Further still, our brand-new Study Folders are soon to be ready, which will allow every student to create their own reference of WingTsun Kung-Fu. Watch this space for more details...
In summary we were all extremely happy with the way students had improved during the summer term, and excited about the progression through Autumn and Winter terms. Well done to everyone who passed, and we'll see you in class to take the next steps into a new programme.
- Author: Lee Heron
- Sources: None
