The Dan Grading Preparation System

Mat Manual companion guide to "Shodan Is Not a Bigger Kyu Test: Preparing for Your Dan Grading." Print it. This book is the twelve-week build for a dan grading: a full-syllabus self-audit that lists every kata, kihon set, and kumite format with an honest rating column, a week-by-week planner that sequences the rebuild, fitness benchmark tables, mock-grading score sheets, and a grading-day checklist. It assumes your organization's written syllabus is the governing document and gives you the grid to lay over it.

Name: ______________________________ Gym: ______________________________ Coach: ______________________________ Grading date: ______________ Organization: ______________________________

BEFORE ANYTHING: THE GOVERNING DOCUMENT ☐ You have your organization's dan grading syllabus in writing, not from memory and not from another school's website. ☐ You know your grading's kumite format (set, semi-free, free, multiple opponents) and have trained that format, not a different one. ☐ You know the minimum time-in-grade and age rules for your grade and have confirmed you are eligible. ☐ Any injury or medical condition that affects a multi-hour grading has been discussed with your instructor before the final month. ☐ The audit in Part 2 was rated the way a stranger would rate it. A generous audit is a failed grading scheduled in advance.

Part 1: The Candidate Card