Skills Assessment & Grading - Is It Necessary For My Progress?
Skills assessment is a critical component of any successful structured training program. This holds true for every form of education and training – Krav Maga is no different. Throughout the year, Krav Maga practitioners train according to material fitting for their level. Levels ensure that their skills development is structured and it helps set goals. Testing holds us accountable to meet the goals we have set.
Testing has another critical role – a structured training program involving skills assessment can drive you to reach goals and to train harder, helping you to learn more and achieve more. While I was at university studying psychology, I enjoyed learning the class content (for some subjects a bit more than others), but it was the end-of-year exams that motivated me to sit down and work hard because I needed to pass the assessments.
For Krav Maga Maga practitioners, if we ever find ourselves called to put our training to the ultimate test and protect ourselves or the ones we love, it is already too late to check whether the skills we have been developing “work”. That is why we conduct skills tests – to ensure our students are prepared for practical situations.
Testing and grading form an integral part of training our practitioners into fighters. Grading gives our students, some of who come to us with limited fighting experience, the opportunity to become adept at fighting aggressively to protect themselves. We set goals by setting levels of performance and conducting regular gradings, helping students to monitor their progress and performance over the course of their training.
What Is The Instructor Is Looking To See?
The first thing we look at is how you think and perform under pressure. What information their body was able to retain from training and how did they choose techniques that will minimize damage in each situation. It’s not about perfection, sometimes all the options presented are bad, you just have to choose the one that will serve your objective best.
Each rank has got different requirements and performance levels. More advanced practitioners are required to present more control over their body and improve strength & stamina, and precision.
When students, as a group make the same mistake or miss critical knowledge this is a sign our team needs to address those issues in classes and that’s great feedback for us as instructors. Our job is to improve and learn every day, and testing is one of the ways we do that.
Good luck with your next test, whether it’s your first or the 10th, keep working hard!
Kida,
Tsahi Shemesh