Updating Testing Criteria

Aikido Olympia instructors have recently reviewed the existing testing criteria and begun updating those requirements. With a round of promotional demonstrations recently completed, and the next opportunity coming in December, the timing for making adjustments seems right for our dojo. Overall, the new testing criteria will not look significantly different for our adult students and will better align with the broader Aikido Yuishinkai testing criteria. Our youth testing criteria will be perhaps more of an adjustment. 

With our younger students, we want to create a bit more opportunity to work on things like focus, working with others, mindfulness, and awareness. With more emphasis on these practices, our youth instructors are working to align some of the testing criteria to the focus of these classes. There will still be a set of techniques we expect students to learn, but we’ll also ask that they demonstrate exercises and katas, as well as comfort working with others. 

By Nate Weed