European Examination Regulations

A. How to set up an examination session :

1. Prepare an examination venue according to regulation (under)

2. Contact the related National Examination Coordinator by mail or phone to inform her/him of the examination event, discuss details and get her/his agreement

3. Hold examinations according to proper ritual

4. Fill out and have the examiners sign the"Examination result registration form". Make a copy and send the original it to the National Examination Coordinator.

5. Fill out identical data into the "Examination result speadsheet for computer input" and send it through e-mail, in order to avoid spelling mistakes on the official results website. * You might have to use a right click on the link to upload the file.

Nota : For more specific know-how on organisation of examinations, you may refer to the "Examination Handbook" in English or French.

B. Examination regulations :

(Version 8.7.2006 by the European Technical Committee)

1. Members of any examination comittee should be duly registered members of the ESC (see above), except for Senior Instructor / 3-dan exams.

2. Examinations held in the European region should comply with the European Technical Committee’s curricula specifications (for up to date information before holding an examination session, ask National Examination Coordinator).

3. To sit as an examiner for a certain discipline (Karate, Bojutsu, Kenjutsu, Shintaido), the examiner must be qualified at the proper level in that discipline.

4. It is recommended that the examination committee ask the opinion of the examinee’s instructor (especially in the case of Assistant examinations). In case instructor cannot be present, he/she might write a recommandation letter.

5. Non-technical topics (previous contribution to the group, gasshuku organizing etc.) should be reported in writing. The document should be presented before challenging the corresponding examination.

6. The sequence of examinations should always be Karate > Bojutsu > Kenjutsu > Shintaido.

7. One cannot act as goreisha for one's own examination.

Print out copy (pdf)

C. Examination deliberation process and criteria : 

(use from July 2011)

The process of voting:

1. A secret ballot of all the eligible people before deliberation

2. Deliberation of examiners and with other members of the European  Technical Committee

3. To access challenged level, the examination committee need the person's instructor agreement

4. A second ballot is held for last vote, and the final decision

Examination criteria

to be taken into consideration when deciding an examinee’s result.

1. Technical ability :  To be judged against the following principles –

•   調子                    Choshi                 Body condition, Pitch

•   拍子                  Hyoshi                 Rhythm

•   呼吸                    Kokyu                  Breathing, Communication

•   間合い              Ma-ai                   Connection with partner

•   気の流れ           Ki-no–nagare      Flow of energy

2. Effect on Partner

3. Harmony with others who hold the same rank

4. Personal development (since the last exam)

5. Contribution to group life (according to the curriculum) 

6. Their instructor’s point of view

 Each person eligible to vote scores each item according to an ABC system, where:

       A = Good

       B = Maybe

       C = Not good enough

 The majority vote is allocated to each item, and then a final result is arrived at according to the overall score.

D. Certified examiners

Note : Necessary level of examinators depend of the intended level for a specific examination. See under for appropriate qualifications.

E. Venues, intervals and qualifications

** Subject to approval by the International Technical Examination Committee (ITEC)

F. ESC examination coordinator

  Georg Müller  (from November 2015)  - Pfälzer Straße 48 D-50677 Köln Germany - gee_mueller@gmx.de

National examination coordinators 

Examination results registration to ESC 

Registration of examinations results should be made using the "Examination result registration form". This form should be signed by the committee members directly after exams results have been announced. It should then be handed or sent to the national examination coordinator (see list above).  The "Examination result speadsheet for computer input" should also be filled and sent by e-mail, so that the national examination coordinator might transfert it to the secretary of ESC for publication of correctly spelled results on the web and archive the signed list.