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Last Updated: 1st January 2022
Appointment
1.
All Shotokan Connect karateka who are 3rd dan or above will have the opportunity to become kyu grading examiners.
2.
In order to be eligible to enter the mentorship process to become a grading examiner, the karateka must:
2.1
be a member of Shotokan Connect
2.2
be graded to 3rd dan or above with Shotokan Connect
2.3
be a qualified karate instructor with Shotokan Connect
2.4
have a current (last 12 months) satisfactory enhanced DBS certificate
2.5
have no outstanding disciplinary or safeguarding matters under investigation by Shotokan Connect or any other organisation
3.
Those karateka who meet the criteria listed in section 2. above, may contact the Quality Assurance Committee in order to apply to enter the kyu grading examiner mentorship process.
4.
Once their application has been accepted, the process will be as follows:
4.1
the applicant must attend a kyu grading in the presence of a member of the Quality Assurance Committee. During that grading the applicant’s experience of kyu gradings and their understanding of the grading process and the technical standards expected by Shotokan Connect will be assessed by the member of the Quality Assurance Committee.
4.2
the member of the Quality Assurance Committee will establish the number of further gradings that the applicant must attend in the presence of a member of the Quality Assurance Committee, in order to develop and establish their competence
4.3
following attendance at the predetermined number of kyu gradings established in 4.2. above, the applicant will then officiate a kyu grading in the presence of a member of the Quality Assurance Committee. The member of the Quality Assurance Committee will determine whether or not the applicant is competent.
4.4
if the applicant is determined as being competent, their application will be returned to the Quality Assurance Committee who will recommend their appointment as a kyu grading examiner to the Steering Committee for ratification
4.5
if the applicant is determined as not being competent, the member of the Quality Assurance Committee will recommend a further period of mentorship, to be followed by a further assessment of competence while officiating a kyu grading
4.6
once a recommendation of the Quality Assurance Committee for the appointment of a kyu grading examiner has been ratified by the Steering Committee, the applicant will be recorded as being a Shotokan Connect kyu grading examiner.
Review
5.
All Shotokan Connect kyu grading examiners will be subject to peer review.
6.
Having been recorded as being a Shotokan Connect kyu grading examiner the grading examiner will be peer reviewed at every third grading, and at least once each calendar year, by a Shotokan Connect karateka who is 5th dan or above who is recorded as being a Shotokan Connect grading examiner, acting on behalf of the Quality Assurance Committee. This review process must, wherever possible be undertaken using the following guidelines:
6.1
it is the grading examiner’s responsibility to identify a suitable reviewer
6.2
there should be no reciprocity between grading examiners ie grading examiner A, who undertakes the review of grading examiner B, must not then be reviewed by grading examiner B
6.3
grading examiners should make every effort to be reviewed by a different reviewer on as many occasions as possible
6.4
grading examiners who are 5th dan or above should make every effort to review as many different grading examiners as possible.
7.
In the event of a reviewer, subsequent to a review, concluding that a grading examiner is not competent, the reviewer must report the finding to the Quality Assurance Committee, who will, subject to ratification by the Steering Committee, be responsible for determining, enacting and reviewing an appropriate course of action. That course of action may be, but is not limited to, a further period on mentoring and/or supervision, or removal from the role of Shotokan Connect kyu grading examiner.