“Coach my child has been waiting to test for their grey belt for months. When can they do that?”

This has been a recurring question over the past couple of weeks.

It is one that I’ve been dwelling on, because I believe the prior system was broken…..or at least lacked execution.

There was no appointed time to test. Kids would often arrive to class expecting to test, and they wouldn’t be tested, they would leave dissapointed.

How do I know? My daughter Scarlette was one of them.

So now the question arises……

1️⃣ What IS a grey belt?

What constitutes a grey belt?

Is a 12 year old grey belt, held to the same standard as a 5 year old grey belt?

Is it performance in matches? 👊

Is it competition? 🥇

Is it memory recall of techniques? 🧠

Is it personal discipline + internal control of themselves?

Is it improvement from where they started? 🚀

I believe the answer lies somewhere in an amalgamation of all those categories.

2️⃣ Secondary question - How do you measure it?

This is where the TEST aspect comes into play.

And my answer right now is……I don’t have the full and final answer. 🤷🏻‍♂️

What I CAN tell you is I know a grey belt when I see it.

It’s kinda of like Ginger 🫚 ….tough to describe….easy to identify.

So while I work on creating a new testing system which consists of live sparring, physical fitness testing, and personal performance that will be held consistently and repeatedly…..I have a short term solution. 😊

The interim Grey Belt test format will be hosted every belt promotion day.

Only kids who are maxed out on stripes will be eligible to test. On promotion day we will host a live “competition style” match on a comparable teammate. (Could be high ranking white, or low grey).

The child’s performance and composure both as the aggressor and defender will dictate whether they pass or fail.

I will be looking for :

Strong Takedowns

Guard Retention

Mount Escape

Offense From Guard

Parents will need to message us on the app or texting number to inform us if they’d like their child to test.

This grey belt “test” segways into my next point nicely.

NEW FUNDAMENTAL KIDS/ADULTS CURRICULUM 🥋 🤼‍♂️

Here is the type of grapplers I would like Metro to produce ⬇️

https://www.canva.com/design/DAHBsZOitsA/-kWN_oVfgCeB1uFAet43kA/view?utm_content=DAHBsZOitsA&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hae51c29da5

This simple roadmap of Takedown > Pass > Mount is plenty to help anyone with less than 1 year of training have a “TARGET” or destination in Mind.

If you get thrown off this roadmap and end up in guard, or side control, or bottom mount…..we will address those as well…..but your end goal will be to BE on top.

See you on the mats,

Written by Coach David🦊