At Zhang Sah students have the opportunity to prove themselves worthy of progressing to the next level in their training. Students who are in our early learning curriculum (Pre- M. A.) are reviewed monthly in class. Students who are ages 8 and older that are not red or black belts are tested in class every other month. This is what is commonly referred to as belt testing. Making progress in a student's practice is very important. Regular assessment gauges the degree of increased capacities and abilities for a student. It informs us on whether or not the level of instruction is of high quality or lacking . By evaluating test results we can see the effectiveness of the curricula being used for our practice.
As students progress through the ranks the testing tends to become more rigorous. Practice evolves from being solo to cooperational in nature to oppositional at advanced levels. There are physical and mental conditioning activities that support the student's progression. One key mental attribute that is developed through these processes is the ability to challenge the unknown.
Unknowns are wild card variables introduced during martial arts belt testing that manifest an array of student capacities and abilities. The best example of this concept is the board breaking requirement (Kyuppa Ki Sool) at mid-level belt testing and beyond. The goal is to have the student synthesize technique, mental focus, and spirit to overcome not knowing if they can split a board. The boards are cut to accommodate the size of the student attempting the break to keep the exercise rigorous yet safe. The student is not prepared in advance specifically for the break, they do not rehearse the break. The student is expected to have a very firm grasp on the technique being deployed in the attempt to break the board. For example, a student is required to perform a flying spinning back kick break (Yidan Dwit Budo Chagi to be promoted to red belt level (Cho dan Bo - Black Belt Candidate). The student will have been practicing this kick for well over two years prior to being challenged to do it is a break on an exam.
The reason that students do not rehearse breaking techniques that are reserved for testing is because the act of rehearsing dilutes the significance of the test and the personal satisfaction that comes along with being able to believe in yourself to accomplish an awesome feat that that they didn't know that they were capable of. It keeps the test in the test! It keep the "awe" in the awesome feelings of self-confidence that are experienced. At Zhang Sah we do not teach to the test.
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