Following the presentation of senior Dan grades, the Kyokushin Senior Grading commenced for green and brown belt karateka attempting their next belt level. Four students partook in the grading, with others training alongside or turning up for the kumite at the end. All students did very well.
Students were assessed by Shihan Idir Bahamid, Shihan James Sidwell and Shihan Mark Shelmerdine while Sensei Ben Ng conducted the grading.
Special recognition goes to Peter Zhu, who was promoted to Shodan-Ho. Shodan-Ho is regarded as a provisional or apprentice black belt rank, a black belt level without a Dan grade.
In previous years, three exceptional students attempted their Shodan (1st Dan) grading while under the age of 16, which included the 40 fights. (Notably, Sensei Josh Darley redid his 40 fights as an adult in his 3rd Dan grading.) However, most underage karateka cannot reasonably be expected to handle the full rigours of a 1st Dan Kyokushin grading without compromising the legitimacy of the rank. In recognition of this, the KIMAA Board decided to reintroduce the grade of Shodan-Ho for younger karateka to be able to attempt if they have held 1st Kyu for a sufficiently long time, but are not quite old enough to attempt 1st Dan.
Peter now holds the grade of Shodan-Ho. Peter is the first student of KIMAA to successfully complete the Shodan-Ho grading. He completed 20 fights at a high level and otherwise met all the technique and kata requirements for regular Shodan. He will be eligible to attempt his 1st Dan Shodan Black Belt grading in 18 months. Our congratulations go to Peter as he has laid out the path forward for future karateka who start training at a very young age.Â
Kyokushin International Martial Arts Australia 