Grading Structure
At EMA we use the following grade system to encourage students towards Black Belt. The grades themselves are symbols that point to your own development and growth within martial arts. Most students take somewhere between 7-10 years to reach their Black Belt test.
Year 1: White, White 1,
Year 2: White 2, White 3
Year 3: White 4
Year 4: White 5
Year 5: White 6
Year 6: White 7
Year 7: Black
EMA does two review events each year where students showcase the skills they have been working on. It is at these events where grades are awarded. The reviews normally last for 3-4 hours, and are $50
EMA Camp – As a club we do a special event out near Te Henga Lake, where we spend three days at a live in training camp. Often other clubs, schools, and guest instructors are invited. Together, we cover many different aspects of martial arts in the beautiful West Auckland bush.
Black Belt is the most recognised grade across contemporary martial art schools.
Traditional Gongfu/Kungfu training had no such system, and instead you would begin your apprenticeship around 8-years-old and train every day for the next 5-8 years. As you entered your teenage phase your training methods would change, and meditation would be taught for long periods. This stage would last another 10 years, with capable students becoming proficient in the mid-late twenties. Gongfu was seen as a life long journey through which your training kept you healthy and strong as you aged. Highly skilled teachers would still be able to best their younger, and stronger students into their late 70s and 80s.
The Grade and Belt systems were developed by Jigoro Kano (Judo) and Funakoshi Gichen (Shotokan Karate) in the early 20th century. These teachers developed their own highly structured and organised methods for teaching martial arts to larger groups of students. This would go on to influence many other teaching systems across the world.
