Understanding Your Kung-Fu Student’s Class Schedule

Change can be challenging. Over the past 17 months, we have changed our class schedule more than ever before. (Since the academy opened in 1987, the schedule has traditionally remained very consistent.) We have worked very hard to adapt it to offer you as much kung-fu as we can amidst the ever-changing government regulations. The current schedule offers you as much flexibility as we can provide.

To understand any schedule we offer, you need to know your Program and Rank:

Across all of our Programs and Ranks, there are 38 different levels! Understandably, this many levels can be confusing, but they help to facilitate the delivery of our curriculum. Imagine a school system with students from ages 4 – 70 that provides enough curriculum to keep everyone inspired and developing for 30+ years!

Your Program

First, you need to know what Program you or your kung-fu student is in:

Currently, some Youth students are 11 or older and should consider moving to the Junior Program. Some Juniors are 15 and older and should consider moving to the Adult Program. If this applies to your child, we encourage you to get in touch with Sigung David to discuss. Different programs enable us to best instruct based on the unique abilities that come with each age group. We allow some limited accommodations for optimizing your own schedule with siblings and other activities.

Your Rank

Second, you need to know your Rank. Our Student Handbook has full details, but reviewing the Kung-Fu Ranking Sashes will also help. Students should know their rank too (similar to their grade in school)—if they have passed a grading, their grading certificate will state their rank. Knowing their rank is the first step in understanding their Strength Requirements and what they need to know to test for their next level:

  • If your student hasn’t yet earned a belt or sash (or recently moved up from Little Ninjas), they are Novice.
  • If they have their very first belt as a Youth, they are Youth Red.
  • If they have their first sash, they are Junior Red.

The knot for belts is below the navel; for sashes, the knot is over the right hip.

In the unique case that a student grades in one program and then moves up a program before grading again, it can get confusing. We are happy to clarify for you specifically. The simple answer is that your student is one rank colour lower in the new program.

For example:

  • If your student graded to Youth Green Stripe and they choose to move to the Junior Program, they are now Junior Orange.
  • If they graded to Junior Brown and move to the Adult Program, they become Adult Blue in rank.

Moving up programs is not a regression in our curriculum. In the above example, the Junior Orange curriculum is similar to the Green Stripe/Belt curriculum. Upon making or considering a move up in programs, we encourage you and your child to compare the curriculum as outlined in the Handbook.

To ease understanding any schedule we offer, including our latest below, please invest a few minutes to understand your kung-fu student’s Program and Rank.

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