Student Guide

Guidelines for Yonkyu

(Purple belt, 40 days of practice after Gokyu)

Evaluations consist of the items from the following six elements. While specific arts, kata, and exercises are particular at each level a student may also be asked to demonstrate any (or all) of the requirements from a prior level during their test. In this way Aikido is viewed as a cumulative process, not simply a procedure of studying for a single test. The six elements are:

1. Specific Aikido arts at each rank (a list of arts required at this level by Hombu, and additional arts emphasized at the Prairie Aikikai)
2. Selected Aikido arts (a number of student selected arts, as well as instructor selected arts from any of the prior levels
3. Weapons forms (Tanbo, Tanto, Jo and Bokken: specific methods required at each particular level)
4. Selected arts from Hanmi Handachi (attacker standing, defender kneeling) and Swari Waza (both attacker and defender kneeling)
5. Rondori Exercise (freestyle defense against certain types of attacks and numbers of persons by level)
6. Ryokata Tori Exercise (number of repetitions by level)

Specific guidelines for each level are given on the following pages. Students should be aware that these lists are for practice and training purposes only. Since each individual's abilities, personality, and desires from training vary it is only natural that each individual's evaluation may likewise vary. These pages are only intended to provide a listing of what abilities and knowledge are typically mastered at each level. It is between each individual student and Sensei to determine what that student's particular evaluation for any given rank will consist of and how (and when) it will be conducted.

Note: All arts are to be demonstrated (if possible) both Irimi and Tenkan. All Kata are to be demonstrated (if possible) from both left and right sides.