Every summer and winter, there are kendo gradings held in Toronto for the ranks of 1st kyu and up. We also hold our own in-house gradings for ranks up to 2nd kyu.

I am hoping there will be a few people ready to challenge for 1st kyu, 1st dan and 2nd dan this year. I have recorded the grading attempts of many of our club members as a resource for those who are coming up next. Below are links to a few of those videos. Everyone in these videos passed their grading attempt. I have indicated which side they are on when the video starts.

1st Kyu

John (R) | Dylan (L) | Rodrigo (L) | Chris (R) | Brian (R) | Lexie (L) | Samuel (L) || 1st Kyu Kihon Waza with Bokuto (2016)

1st Dan

Dylan (R) | Brian (L) | Chris (R)

2nd Dan

Dylan (R)

Watching videos of people who passed their kendo gradings is valuable. You can see what they did well, where they made mistakes, and more importantly, get “proof” that if you make a mistake (or two), that you’re not going to fail.

For those who are wondering what our in-house gradings are like, here’s a brief outline.

• There is a written test.
• You will be required to perform all your basic strikes, large and small, plus kirikaeshi.
• If you are in bogu, you will spar with a couple of different opponents who may or may not be at the same level as you.

If this sounds daunting, relax. All we want to see is what level you perform. Just do your best kendo.

To all those challenging for their next rank in kendo, good luck!