EXAMINATION
PROVISIONS RELATING TO PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATION
GOJU-KAI KARATE-DO, U.S.A.
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
Revised August, 1995
PROVISIONS RELATING TO PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATIONS
ARTICLE I.
JURISDICTION
1. Director. National Headquarters of Goju-Kai Karate-Do, U.S.A. recognizes only the officially certified director of a club as the authorized person to examine ranks of the members of the club. The director and recognized club shall be certified from the National Headquarters.
A. ASSISTANT EXAMINERS. The director may assign members of the club as assistant examiners. They, however, must be holders of the rank of Shodan Ho or above.
B. GUEST EXAMINERS. The director may invite directors from other certified Goju-Kai Karate-Do clubs as guests for the purpose of assisting in the examination of students.
NOTE: There shall be no officials other than directors who may be invited to participate in examinations until further notice from the National Headquartrers.
C. JOINT EXAMINATIONS. There shall be no joint examinations among clubs except at the National Headquarters.
2. FREQUENCY OF EXAMINATIONS. Promotional Examinations for rank shall be conducted by a club periodically, with a maximum of three times a year, depending on the frequency of instructional classes per week offered by the club.
A. THREE TIMES. Clubs offering three or more classes a week may conduct up to three promotional examinations a year at a frequency not to exceed once every four months.
B. TWO TIMES. Clubs offering two classes a week may conduct up to two promotion examinations a year at a frequency not exceed once in six months.
C. ONE TIME. Clubs offering one class a week may conduct one promotion examination a year at a freequency not exceed twelve months.
3. ADDITIONAL PROMOTION EXAMINATIONS. There shall be no additional promotional examinations permitted between those periodically conducted, unless it is arranged with and conducted by the National Headquarters as a special examination.
NOTE: No make-up examinations shall be conducted due to the absence of prospective candidates, regardless of the reasons. They must wait for the next scheduled examination.
4. LIMIT OF POWER. The highest rank any director can promote shall be restricted to Shodan Ho, or 1st degree black belt interim.
5. RECOGNITION OF RANKS. Any rank attained in organization other than Goju- Kai Karate-Do, U.S.A. shall be invalid and shall be considered as no rank.
A. VERIFICATION OF RANKS. Any rank claimed to be attained under the name of Goju-Kai Karate-Do, U.S.A. must be verified by an inquiry of its record at the National Headquarters. Without this record, the National Headquarters may renounce the rank.
B. CERTIFICATION OF RANKS. Rank holders of 6th kyu and above must certify the rank with a diploma issued by the National Headquarters.
ARTICLE II.
APPLICATION AND PARTICIPATION
1. Participation. Any member wishing to attain rank must participate in promotional examinations conducted by the club to which they are affiliated, and must be evaluated by their director.
NOTE; No one shall be permitted to participate in promotional examinations conducted by clubs other than his or her affiliated club under any circumstance, exceptblack belts being examined at the National Headquarters.
2. ELIGIBILITY. Eligibilities requirements for participating in promotional examinations are as follows:
A. NATIONAL MEMBERSHIP AND MEMBERSHIP CARD. Rank holders of 9th kyu and above must apply for National Membership and obtain a National Membership Card.
B. DIPLOMA. Rank holders of 6th kyu and above must have certification of their present rank by a diploma issued by the National Headquarters.
C. REQUIRED CLASS ATTENDANCES. All prospective candidates must establish a minimum of twenty-five class attendances within the period of four months, six months, or twelve months depending on the frequency regulated by their club.
D. WAITING PERIOD. All prospective candidates must fulfill the waiting period between promotional examinations as regulated by their club.
E. DIRECTOR’S APPROVAL. All prospective candidates must meet their director’s approval.
TRANSFERRING MEMBER. Members transferring from one certified Goju-Kai club must establish the required class attendances and fulfill the required waiting period with the new club.
A. Transferring members must establish the attendances established with the former club, and attendances established before the date of the new club’s last examination shall not be counted.
B. Transferring members must fulfill the waiting period between promotion examinations as regulated by the new club. The waiting period will count from the transferring member’s last promotion in an examination conducted by the former club.
4. APPLICATION FORM. Prospective contestants must fill and complete an application form provided by the National Headquarters. The director of the club shall keep as permanent record the completed application forms for every promotion examination.
5. ENTRY FEE. The contestants are required to pay a fee of $10.00 for participating in an examination that is officially regulated in the Constitution and By-Laws of Goju-Kai Karate-Do, U.S.A.. The director is not permitted to charge any additional fee for the purpose of the examination.
ARTICLE III.
EVALUATION
1. LIST OF CONTESTANTS. A list of contestants shall be made by the director on the proper form provided by the National Headquarters. The contestant number, full name of contestant, present rank, and names of both required and desired katas scheduled to be demonstrated shall be properly entered (typed or printed) at the head of the respective columns as shown in the attached examples.
NOTE: The list shall be provided to all assistant examiners, if any are assigned by the director.
2. JUNIOR DIVISION. The list for the junior division (contestants of 15 years of age and below) shall be listed as a separate group.
3. EVALUATION. The contestants shall be evaluated by the director and his assistant, if any, on their demonstrated abilities in performing the required techniques.
4. REQUIRED TECHNIQUES. The techniques required by the National Headquarters for demonstration for rank determination shall be those specified in the Constitution and By-Laws of Goju-Kai Karate-Do, U.S.A., Section II C. (Promotion Meeting), #4.
5. POINT SCORING SYSTEMS. The point scores counting for the rank evaluations shall be the total scores from the demonstration of 1) Kihon, 2) Kihon Ido, 3) Required Kata, and 4) Optional Kata. The point scoring systems are as follows:
A. KIHON, KIHON IDO, AND KATAS. The point scoring for the evaluation of each of the categories of Kihon, Kihon Ido, and Kata shall be within the
range of 0 to 5 points, with 5 points being a perfect score. The range of
points shall be divided in increments of quarter point as follows:
5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00
4.75 3.75 2.75 1.75 0.75
4.50 3.50 2.50 1.50 0.50
4.25 3.25 2.25 1.25 0.25
B. The point score in evaluating Kihon Ido of each contestant shall be equal to or less, but never more than the point score awarded for Kihon.
C. The point score in evaluating Katas of each contestant shall be equal to or less, but never more than the score awarded for Kihon Ido.
ARTICLE IV.
DETERMINATION OF RANK
1. CONTESTANT STANDING CHART. The director shall prepare a contestant standing chart according to the total scores from the four categories of Kihon, Kihon Ido, Required Kata and Optional Kata. The chart shall list contestants in descending order from the highest score attainer to the lowest. (Refer to the example provided from the National Headquarters).
2. NEW RANKS. The director shall determine new ranks for the contestants taking into consideration their placement in the standing chart and their previous rank.
3. ONE STEP ADVANCEMENT. Generally, promotions shall be one step advancement from the previous rank.
4. TWO-STEP ADVANCEMENT. Two step advancement may be permitted only in the following cases:
A. From 10th kyu to 8th kyu.
B. From 9th kyu to 7th kyu.
C. From 8th kyu to 6th kyu.
D. From 7th kyu to 5th kyu.
E. From 6th kyu to 4th kyu.
F. From 5th kyu to 3rd kyu.
5. THREE-STEP ADVANCEMENT. Three-step advancement may be permitted only in the following cases:
A. From 10th kyu to 7th kyu.
B. From 9th kyu to 6th kyu.
C. From 8th kyu to 5th kyu.
6. NO PROMOTION. The director may award no promotion if it is determined that the contestant has not demonstrated adequate progress.
7. There shall be no demotions.
8. Junior division. Junior division contestants shall be promoted one step only. Or, they may remain in the same rank if adequate progress is not demonstrated.
ARTICLE V
REPORT OF THE EVALUATION, AND RECOGNITION, NOTIFICATION, AND CERTIFICATION OF THE RANKS.
1. REPORT OF THE EVALUATION. The ranks determined by a director after an official examination must be reported to the National Headquarters in an original report of the examination.
2. RECORDS. All directors shall keep copies of the examination for their permanent records.
3. REVIEW AND SUPERVISION. The evaluation of all ranks shall be subjected to review and supervision by the national chairman before promotion of ranks is recognized. All clubs shall be notified of the recognition of ranks by the National Headquarters upon completion of the review.
4. CERTIFICATION. The recognized ranks of 6th kyu and above must be certified by a diploma issued from the National Headquarters. The ranks are unofficial without the certification.
ARTICLE VI.
PROVISIONS RELATING TO POLICIES FOR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FUNCTIONS
1. STATUS OF ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP. Individual members of Goju-Kai Karate- Do, U.S.A., who wish to participate or officiate in periodic instruction, promotional examination, and any organizational meeting must be active members of an affiliated Goju-Kai Karate-Do club sanctioned by the National Headquarters.
EXTERNAL FUNCTION. Both individuals and clubs which are members of Goju-Kai Karate-Do, U.S.A. shall not be obligated nor regulated by constitutional and technical provisions set forth by any karate organization other than Goju-Kai Karate- Do, U.S.A..
A. CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENTS. Participation in an inter-style competitive karate tournament shall be prohibited unless the tournaments are conducted or are authorized by the National Headquarters.
B. RANKING EXAMINATIONS. Participation in any ranking examination conducted by a club or by an examiner who is not a member or not authorized by the National Headquarters is prohibited.
C. INSTRUCTIONS. Instructions of a system of karate programmed by other than the National Headquarters shall be prohibited.
D. VIOLATION. Any violation of any of the above committed by an individual or a member club shall be considered automatically as an intention of resignation.
3. LOCAL GOJU-KAI CHAMPIONSHIP. Conducting of a local Goju-Kai Karate-Do Championship Tournament shall be suspended until further notice.
4. UNIFORM. The uniform for wear during classes shall be a clean, white karate-gi (pants and jacket). During the class periods, the following items are prohibited for
wear by both male and female participants:
A. Headbands.
B. Protective devices such as helmets, masks, body armor, gloves, arm guards, shin guards, and foot guards.
C. Protectors for genital areas are excepted.