P1 Grading
by Lance Manley- P4
Krav Maga Midlands' first in house grading since 2010 (not
counting the "technical pass" retests from last year) was something
we'd all been expecting and the actual students going for it, were nervous
about.
KMG had handed over the responsibility
for Practitioner 1 gradings to individual clubs. Only P2 and up would now be
graded at national events.
I spoke to Charlotte Measures on Thursday in training about
the upcoming test and she said "I'm really nervous but I do know it and
I'm hoping I don't freeze on the day."
Practitioner Dan Maggs also said " Looking forward
to tomorrow, nervous excitement I guess. Hope it goes ok, but the ground work
and break-falls are a concern for a bigger guy like myself."
Bartosz, our Chief Instructor said, "I'm looking
forward to it, we'll see what's going to happen. We'll assess our students and
give them good feedback at the end."
Me and a few of the other guys had decided to go along and
support those taking the exam. I remember well the nerves, anxiety and sense of
bewilderment about my first grading, back in October 2012. While I'm nervous at
all gradings (P4 being the one that pushed it into the stratosphere) there's
something uniquely nerve wracking about the Practitioner 1 test. You don't know
what to expect; most people have no idea what's going to happen; and it is
quite possibly the first time you've been assessed on your physical skills, be
it in Krav or any other type of situation.
I got to Stratford
upon Avon High School 12.15pm and the guys were waiting
in the foyer near the sports hall. A lot of worried faces and I spoke again to
Charlotte who assured me she wasn't feeling nervous now. Her 8 year old
daughter who attends Junior Safe Krav Maga on a Monday in Leamington Spa,
looked up from her colouring book and went "Yes you are." That
got a laugh and I also spoke to Laura Dumbleton Jones who told me, "Just
looking forward to getting started and getting into it to be honest. I'm trying
to think of it as a training session."
Tristan Smith said, "I'm feeling incredibly nervous
but I'm looking forward to it and I'm going to enjoy it."
Quite a few guys had turned up to cheer on their mates,
including Goz, Pete and Ewa from Solihull and KMM
instructors Al and Charlie.
The test was conducted by our Bartosz who
is Expert 1 and Russell Brotherston who is Graduate 5. As the students lined up
Bartosz reassured them that while they were obviously nervous as it was a new
experience for them, they should give it their all and do their best. They then
launched into the warm up for a while and after working up a sweat were split
into pairs. With 11 guys taking the test, there was one group of three. They
started on some striking moves and the switched to straight punches.
As the hours wore on, you could see the Krav maps appearing
on people's T-shirts as the sweat flowed. Everyone was giving it their all and
it was great to see how no one flagged in their energy levels and each one was
going full out to perform 100% their best.
Russell and Bartosz walked around and between the fighting pairs
(and the 3), making notes and occasionally conferring.
After 3 hours we then moved to forward rolls with mats being
laid out in a line. From personal experience I know how difficult it is to get
this right. It took me about a week to crack it for my P2 exam and again the
guys performed it well.
They then paired off again and went for some striking and
kicking work before rounding it all off with 50 push ups, 50 sit ups and 50
squats, getting a final good sweat on before we moved into a smaller sports
hall. Bartosz told everyone to get a drink and a bit to eat, while he went into
a private room with Russell to compare notes.
After about 15 minutes they came back and the students sat
on the floor around them while they talked through the common mistakes made
(knife defences being high on the list) and demonstrated the correct way to
perform the moves. This is something I've seen at every grading I've taken and
is invaluable feedback.
Finally they moved on to the grades and called names out.
Individual feedback was given and everyone had passed. We applauded and finally
everyone got to get up and think about going home. Charlotte
was grinning broadly, clearly happy to have passed. Her husband Simon Green
from the Leamington Spa class, and her two little daughters were very proud for
her. She told me..."Really, really awesome. Really, really good. Really
enjoyed it."
Instructor Russell said, "I'm pleased with how they
all performed. There's always things that need to be fixed. That's always
there, I mean I get that when I grade (laughs). Aggression was good,
determination was good."
Laura said, "I'm pretty confident. Really enjoyed
it, it certainly gets the blood pumping. I feel like I'm on the start of a very
long journey. It's a big mountain to climb."
Tristan was clearly over the moon and said "I'm
really happy, hopefully be going for P2 in October now."
Finally I got a quick word with Bartosz who said, "Good,
just a couple of things to work on like knife defences and 360's. Very good
footwork and pressure drills."
A great day and it was fun to be there to offer support as
it felt very much like a family affair with friends backing one another and
shouting encouragement when needed.
