GRADING
Gradings at Metro Judo Club.
Mon Grading Notes
Metro Judo Club conducts Mon Grade examinations in accordance with the Syllabus of the British Judo Association (see bottom of this page for BJA Mon Grade Promotion Syllabus and other essential grading preparation resources).
Grades and Belt Colours
There are six different coloured belts covering the eighteen Mon Grades. Each belt has three levels which are represented by Yellow tags on the Red belts and Red tags on each of the other five colour belts. The Mon Grade belt colours, in ascending order, are Red, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue and Brown.
So, for example, 2nd Mon is Red belt with two Yellow tags; 7th Mon is Orange belt with one Red tag and 15th Mon is Blue belt with three red tags.
Minimum age for Mon grading: 8 years of age
Time requirements and frequency of promotions
The general rule is that candidates can only be graded one grade at a time (but see the notes below on Fast Tracking)
For Novice up to and including 6th Mon:
Candidates may be promoted one Mon every calendar month
For 6th Mon and above:
Candidates are limited to one promotion every two calendar months
Note that a ‘month’ is treated as a calendar month. So, for example, a candidate could be promoted from 2nd Mon to 3rd Mon on 31st March, and then be promoted from 3rd Mon to 4th Mon on the following day, which would be 1st April.
Fast Tracking
Judoka who take up the sport at 12 years of age and above may be ‘Fast tracked’ in their first year of BJA Membership. During that year, they may take up to three Mon grades at any grading, up to the maximum grade of 6th Mon.
Conversion to the senior Kyu Grade Syllabus
There is a process for converting from the junior Mon grade to the senior Kyu grade which, in some cases, appears to convert to a slightly lower level. The reason for this lower conversion is to allow for a period of assimilation into the Kyu grade system.
Upon reaching the age of 18 years, the judoka who has not already converted should have his Mon grade formally converted to the appropriate Kyu grade.
A judoka who has reached the age of 14 years and above may choose to convert their Mon grade to the appropriate Kyu grade.
The conversion table for Mon grade to Kyu grade is as follows:
Mon GradeKyu GradeKyu Grade Color1st MonNoviceWhite2nd MonNoviceWhite3rd Mon6th KyuRed4th Mon6th KyuRed5th Mon6th KyuRed6th Mon5th KyuYellow7th Mon5th KyuYellow8th Mon5th KyuYellow9th Mon4th KyuOrange10th Mon4th KyuOrange11th Mon4th KyuOrange12th Mon3rd KyuGreen13th Mon3rd KyuGreen14th Mon3rd KyuGreen15th Mon2nd KyuBlue16th Mon2nd KyuBlue17th Mon2nd KyuBlue18th Mon1st KyuBrown
Note that judoka who do not have three Mon tabs on their belt, and who wish to convert to a Kyu grade with the same colour belt as their Mon grade, may Fast Track by taking two Mon grade examinations at the same grading. For example, a 13th Mon, holding a junior blue belt, could take the 14th and 15th Mon examinations at one grading, and thereby convert to 2nd Kyu senior Blue belt.
Administration Notes
All judoka who wish to be promoted at a grading examination must have full up to date Individual Membership of the British Judo Association.
The fees payable to grade at Metro Judo Club are currently £16, of which £14 is a BJA grade registration fee.
Grading Preparation Resources
Below are links to learning resources on the BJA website that will help judoka prepare correctly for each grading examination. Judoka should use these resources to fully learn and understand what they will be expected to know and demonstrate during each specific grading exam.
Downloadable BJA Mon Grade Promotion Syllabus (PDF) - Parents/Carers should probably read this one and relay the information on to children so that they understand what’s required when taking a grading. It’s a pretty detailed document but certainly worth reading to facilitate successful grade promotions.
Downloadable BJA Syllabus Posters (PDF) - Great for students!
Grading Videos - Demonstrations of how to execute the required judo techniques for each grading. Great for students!