Gradings
Every grading, and the places left.
Gradings and courses for the year with the places and how many remain, the next one marked from today. Nobody books their own grading: the instructors put forward the students who are ready, and the club writes to them a month ahead with the fee and what to prepare.
The calendar
Gradings and courses, date by date.
Next: Adult karate kyu grading, Sunday 8 November 2026, in 19 days, 6 of 24 places left.
- 11 Oct 20269 days ago
Kids karate grading
Done£25White to green, stripes awarded · 40 places · Kids karate
- 8 Nov 2026In 19 days
Adult karate kyu grading
6 places£30Tenth to fourth kyu · 24 places · Karate
- 15 Nov 2026In 26 days
Women's self-defence course starts (six Sundays)
3 places£60Beginners, women only · 12 places · Self-defence
- 29 Nov 2026In 40 days
Kickboxing stripe grading
8 places£30White to blue stripes · 20 places · Kickboxing
- 6 Dec 2026In 47 days
BJJ seminar and belt promotions
11 places£20With the affiliation's black belt · 30 places · Brazilian jiu-jitsu
- 24 Jan 2027In 96 days
Women's self-defence course starts (six Sundays)
9 places£60Beginners, women only · 12 places · Self-defence
- 7 Feb 2027In 110 days
Kids karate grading
22 places£25White to green, stripes awarded · 40 places · Kids karate
- 7 Mar 2027In 138 days
Adult karate kyu grading
15 places£30All kyu grades · 24 places · Karate
- 20 Mar 2027In 151 days
Black belt grading, two days, regional centre
3 places£120Shodan to sandan · 8 places · Karate
- 11 Apr 2027In 173 days
Women's self-defence course starts (six Sundays)
12 places£60Beginners, women only · 12 places · Self-defence
Places are held for the students their instructors put forward, in the order they were put forward. The women\'s self-defence course is booked directly on the form below.
The belt ladder
Karate, white to black.
The minimum time in each grade is the association\'s and assumes two sessions a week; most students take longer and that is fine. Juniors under twelve grade in the same order with stripes between belts and a junior black at the end.
White
Start
Stance, the bow, the first blocks and punches, the dojo rules
Red
Three months
Front stance and back stance, rising and downward blocks, front kick, the first kata (Kihon)
Orange
Three months
Combinations in kihon, Heian Shodan, five-step sparring
Yellow
Three months
Roundhouse and side kicks, Heian Nidan, three-step sparring
Green
Six months
Heian Sandan, one-step sparring, the first free movement
Purple
Six months
Heian Yondan, semi-free sparring, back kick
Brown
Six months each
Three brown grades: Heian Godan, Tekki Shodan, Bassai Dai; free sparring; the bunkai (applications)
Black
A year at first kyu
Shodan: the whole syllabus, a chosen kata, free sparring against two, over two days in front of the senior panel
On the day
What happens at a grading.
Students arrive at nine in a clean gi with their licence, line up by grade, and are examined in groups of four: kihon across the floor, their kata, and kumite with a partner of the same grade. The panel of three black belts marks each section; parents watch from the bench. Results are read out at the end of the morning, belts are tied on there and then, and every student gets a mark sheet with the examiner\'s comments, which their instructor goes through with them in the next session.
Questions about gradings
How often can my child grade?
Roughly every four months at the lower belts, if they are training at least once a week and the instructor puts them forward. Stripes on the belt mark progress between gradings so a child never goes months without something to show for it.
What happens if they fail?
They get a mark sheet saying exactly what to work on and retake at the next grading for nothing. It happens to a few at every grading, including some who go on to black belt, and the instructors are good at making it a lesson rather than a disaster.
Can we transfer a belt from another club?
Usually yes, after a few weeks of training so the instructor can see the grade is equivalent. Belts from the same association transfer directly.
Your first session is free. Bring a T-shirt and joggers.
Tell us who is training, how old they are and the discipline you are curious about, and we ring back the same evening with a session that has space. Train barefoot on the mats, ask the instructor anything afterwards, and decide then. Or ring the club.