About this document

This document contains Readiness Assessments for AHA Black Belts getting ready for their next grading.

Your next grading is something that will take years of preparation – not months, and certainly not weeks.

These assessments will help you assess:

• where you need to improve

• your fitness levels compared to what will be required of you in a grading.

The assessment should be undertaken by the Black Belt’s instructor or if that is not possible, then a training partner of a similar grade.

This will allow to get an independent assessment of your readiness – if you do it by yourself, you may not pick where you really need to improve. Get your instructor or mentor or training partner to put you through your paces, pushing you to keep going when you would have stopped if no-one was watching.

When should I do a Readiness Assessment?

Any time leading up to your grading. We recommend:

• at 1 year out – you may not be ready 1 year out, but you will be able to see where you need the most work.

• at 6 months out – by this time you should know all your techniques and principles, your fitness may not be up to what is required – now is the time to start ramping up the intensity of your training.

• at 3 months out – you really want to be ready here – fit enough, strong enough, fast enough, flexible enough, everything running on automatic. From now until the grading you should be not learning new material, but perfecting and mastering what you know. There may still be room for more fitness, time to start working on your endurance and stamina so you can make it through the grading with maximum application all the way through.

If you are not ready 3 months from the grading, you maybe should consider delaying your grading until you are ready. Talk to your instructor or mentor if you are not sure. You are not alone, your grading should be a team effort with your whole club supporting your goals.

How do I conduct my self-assessment?

Approach your self-assessment in stages:

1. You and your training partners. First go through the assessment yourself – ask some training partners to push you through the assessment. You will need someone to read out what you have to do and keep time. For some parts you will also need a partner or 2 partners to grab and attack you as required. Don’t worry about the time – it is more important for you to do the assessment properly and will full effort – don’t try and pace yourself – you probably won’t make it through the first few times – but as you keep training you will get through further each time.

2. With your instructor. Once you can do it yourself – it is time to show your instructor. First, schedule time to show each part separately, you can do just the 20 minute segments or a whole hour. Ask your instructor to give you time before or after the class. You will also need to arrange your own partners to help you go through the assessment in front of your instructor. Once your instructor has ticked off all sections, try to do the whole assessment in front of your instructor – that may take up to 3 hours so you may want to co-ordinate this full assessment with other black belts in your club so your instructor can assess all of you at the same time.

3. With an independent expert. Now that you have the fitness and the sequences memorised it is time to polish your techniques. Seek out a good kicker and ask them to provide advice on your techniques and efficiency when you do the kicking assessment drills, ask a self-defence expert to help you improve your multiple grabbing and self defence drills, a weapons expert to correct your pole or sword.

We know that if you take advantage of this fantastic tool you will build a stronger version of yourself and be the best you can be for your next black belt grading. This is a gift to you – take it with both hands.

It’s all right, I am better than that other person and they passed their last grading

Your rank should be meaningful to you – not to others. You need to feel deep in your heart that your deserve your rank, with no doubt and no regrets.

Don’t turn up to a grading looking like you have just revised your stuff a few months before the grading and gone for a few jogs in the weeks before the grading.

The grading panel can see when techniques do not come out naturally, when you hesitate because you are unsure whether to go left or right in a pattern, when you do not understand the application of a technique. 

You have been training in Hapkido for a long time and you deserve to do well at your grading, you just have to put in the correct effort.

If you complete a grading in the right manner, it can be one of the most satisfying triumphs of your life. If you just scrape through or forget half your patterns or drill, you will regret it for ever and may even stop training in Hapkido because you don’t feel you honestly deserve your rank.

This document has been produced by senior members of the AHA to encourage and guide in preparing properly for you next grading.

Nowhere to hide

To truly assess your readiness and improvement it is important that you do not create places to hide when you get tired and puffed. Focus on the following aspects as you go through your assessment – if you find yourself taking shortcuts, stop – you are just re-inforcing the wrong habits. See how far you can go without compromising your techniques. Be honest with yourself – hard – but a great life-lesson.

• Pushups – use the ‘hand release’ technique – at the bottom of the push up when your chest touches the ground, lift both hands off the ground before you start the upward push, at the top of the pushup make sure your arms are both straight.

• Squats – in the downwards part, lower your body so your buttocks are slightly below your knees, keep your back straight, in the upwards part finish with straight legs.

• Crunches – hands touching near your ears but not pulling your head, curl up so your shoulder blades do not touch the ground, don’t let your head touch the ground on the way down, keep your chin tucked it.

• Kicks – focus on striking with the correct part of the foot, return to the same spot each time – you should not need to re-adjust your feet after each kick. Keep your guard up during the kicks.

• Punches – focus on striking with the correct part of your hand – use your hips.

• Footwork – use correct footwork in patterns, and in self defence. All self-defence should incorporate footwork – don’t be static.

• For senior levels of black belt seriously focus on your breathing and Ki – is your mind in the right place for each technique? Is your danjun correct? Are you truly coordinating with your attacker and are you using your own strength efficiently? Are you able to show good Hapki?

Part 1 – Basics - 1 hour

1.1 General Fitness – approx. 20 minutes

• Running on the spot – knees high – 1 minute

• Burpees – 30 seconds - target 15 reps

• Mountain Climbers – 30 seconds – target 60 reps

• Pushups – 30 secs, Crunches 30 secs – 3 sets – 3 minutes – target rate 1 per second.

• Squats – 1 minute – target 60 reps

• Drop – stomach to ground, crocodile roll to left, get up, drop – stomach to ground, crocodile roll to right, get up – 30 secs – target 10 reps

• Plank – Front - 1 minute – Left Side – 30 secs, Right Side – 30 secs

• Patterns – all – from White to Black without stopping in between

• 2 minute drink break

1.2 Flexibility and Kicking – approx. 20 minutes

• Reverse cross over lunges alternating legs – 30 secs – target 10 reps

• Leg Swinging – front rising - 10 left, 10 right

• Leg Swinging – inside to outside - 10 left, 10 right

• Front Kick – 10 left, 10 right

• Turning Kick – 10 left, 10 right

• Side Kick – 10 left, 10 right

• Back Kick – 10 left, 10 right

• Hook Kick – 10 left, 10 right

• High Spinning Hook or Heel – 10 left, 10 right

• Front leg side then Low Spinning Heel – 10 left, 10 right

• Front/Turning combination then turning Back Kick – 10 left, 10 right

• Jumping spinning crescent then jumping spinning heel (same leg kicks twice) – 5 left, 5 right

• Stretching – glute stretch, legs to the front together, butterflies, legs apart, stretching to the front, to the left, to the right, side splits, front splits, wrestler’s bridge – demonstrate good flexibility in ALL stretches.

• 2 minute drink break

1.3 Falling – approx. 20 minutes

• Front Fall – 10

• Side Fall – 5 left, 5 right

• Back Fall – 5 left, 5 right

• Cat Roll – 5 left, 5 right

• Back Roll – 5 left, 5 right

• Turning Side Fall – 5 left, 5 right

• Continuous falling as called out by instructor/assistant – 1 minute

• 1 minute break

• Demonstrate getting thrown by partner – leg reap 3, hip throw 3, wrist and shoulder 3, fan lock 3, whip throw 3, neck and chin 3, tornado 3.

• 2 minute drink break.

 Part 2 –Self Defence - 1 hour

2.1 Core Techniques – approx. 15 minutes

• Core Techniques 1 to 15 in correct order – two attackers – one after the other to keep the pace going - repeat 15 core techniques 3 times.

2.2 Self Defence Drills – approx. 15 minutes – it is not a race – do them properly

• Self Defence Drills – 1 to 5 in correct order – with partner – do drills 1 to 5 four times (twice as the defender and twice as the attacker).

2.3 Belt Specific Self Defence – approx. 20 minutes

1st Degree

• Danbon Self Defence – demonstrate your techniques - single hand, cross hands, double hands, two hands onto one, double lapel, shoulder, hair, bear hug, headlock.

• 10 wrist techniques

• One-step sparring – lockup – against grabs

• Defence against throwing

2nd Degree

• Danbon Self Defence – demonstrate your techniques - single hand, cross hands, double hands, two hands onto one, double lapel, shoulder, hair, bear hug, headlock, punch, front kick, turning kick.

• 8 Arresting Techniques

• Lockup against haymaker

3rd Degree

• Self Defence against Self Defence – demonstrate 2 defences against each of the 15 core techniques

• Momentum Self Defence – 4 attackers – continuous attack with 2 handed push

4th Degree

• Self-defence with the Belt – demonstrate 10 techniques - twice

• Self-defence with the Fan – demonstrate 10 techniques - twice

• Self defence using opponent’s momentum - 4 attackers – continuous attack with 2 handed push, punch, downward knifehand.

2.4 Multiple Grabbing – for 10 minutes

• Multiple Grabbing – 4 attackers or more – cycle of standing 1 minute, kneeling 30 secs, standing 1 minute, lying down 30 secs, standing 1 minute.  Keep the attacks going – keep going even if defender is exhausted.

Part 3 – Weapons, Breaks and Sparring - 1 hour

3.1 Weapons – 30 minutes

1st Degree

• Pole (Jangbon) - Basic strikes and swinging – 10 minutes

• Pole pattern #2

• Silla Gumdo - basic drawing and strike combinations

• Jukto – 1 step head strike – 300 reps

2nd Degree

• Pole - Basic strikes and swinging – 10 minutes

• Pole (Jangbon) 1-step sparring

• Pole (Jangbon) Pattern # 3

• Sword (Kom) Patterns 1, 2 & 3 – kneeling or standing

• Bamboo Sword – 1 step head strike - 300

3rd Degree

• Poong Ryu Kom

• Short stick (Danbon) defence against Sword (Kom) – 8 Strikes

• Walking cane (Ji Pang Yi)

• Bamboo Sword – 1 step head strike - 300

4th Degree

• Defence against Sword (Kom)

• Self-made weapon pattern (sword, pole, walking cane, belt or short stick)

• Belt

• Fan

• Bamboo Sword – 1 step head strike - 300

3.2 Sparring (with mouth guard/headgear) 6 x 2-min rounds – 30-sec breaks

• Round 1 – standup

• Round 2 – grappling – start on knees

• Round 3 – standup

• Round 4 – standup

• Round 5 – grappling – start standing

• Round 6 – standup - 2nd Degree and above – sparring against 2 opponents

3.3 Breaks and Flying Kicks – approx. 10 minutes

• Flying Side Kick on Kicking Pad – 5 left, 5 right

• Flying 360 Back Kick on Kicking Pad – 5 left, 5 right

• 1st Degree  - Double front kick or Turning kick off a wall

• 2nd Degree  - Jumping Back Kick (2 boards)

• 3rd Degree – drop board punch and stepping side kick.

• 4th Degree - Free Choice – 4 boards