1 to 5 dan hints.
Shodan: At this level the challenger should exhibit correct etiquette and dress. Their kata should be “sort of” correct.
Nidan: Their movements should be correct.
Sandan: They should be looking at their partner
Yondan: Their performance should smell like budo
Godan: They should be classy, they should look like an example for their juniors.
Roles (6dan and above)
Shinsa-in: There are six judges
Shinsa Incho: is the head judge. He is responsible for all aspects of the grading. It is the duty of the incho to seat visitors, to perhaps kick out unruly participants. The incho calls the start and the Shinsha shunin passes that along to the tachi ai. If there are any unusual situations regarding the grading, the permission of the head judge should be obtained.
The incho tells the other judges what will happen during the grading. He does this before they go into the examination hall.
At the end of the grading the secretary takes the tabulated results to the incho. The incho reviews the results sheet to see that all challengers received all the votes required and signs the tabulated results sheet. During this time the secretary can point out any missed votes, unsigned score sheets or other missing information. The appropriate shinsa-in can sign the sheet, assign his vote or otherwise correct the paperwork. In no case are results to be discussed or changed.
Shinsa Shunin: The vice head judge checks that the judges are ready, communicates to the Tachi Ai to start that round of the test, calls “yame” if he notes a problem, handles all the extra duties that may arise. It is in the power of the shunin to ask a pair of challengers to repeat a kata. There is a lot of leeway for the shunin to make the test fair. These powers are not set down in the rules.
Shinsha-in: The other four judges normally keep quiet and score pass or fail only. Any judge may point out to the shinsa shunin that a kata has been missed, or done out of order. These comments must be made before the score sheets are collected by the secretary. If another judge has to note a problem like this, the shunin is not doing his job correctly, however, all judges have a responsibility to see that the test is done fairly and properly.
Tachi ai: The tachi ai is the person who speaks the commands to the challengers. The judges sit facing two lines of challengers. The tachi is on the judges’ left, jo on the right so that the judges can see the jo’s finishing movements. The tachi ai is beyond the challengers, in the center of the two lines, facing the head judge.
The tachi ai is similar to a referee, he should stand with his heels together and his hands at his sides. His attention should be on the challengers and on the Shinsa Shunin. All other organization should be done by the ushers.
The tachi ai calls nyu jo to bring in the challengers. The challengers face the judges to show their numbers. The judges write down the numbers, put their pencils down and put their hands on their laps. When the shinsa shunin gives a signal (by a nod or a small hand movement) the tachi ai turns the challengers to each other and calls the test. This could be “hajime”, “kotai” or “shi uchi kotai”. At the end he calls tai jo to tell them to leave.
If there are only two 6dan and above challengers, they exchange weapons in the test (shi uchi kotai). From 3 to 6 challengers, they rotate as per kendo (kotai).
If there is only one challenger, a partner of the same rank should be found if possible, the two partners should not be too far apart in rank.
Other considerations:
If candidates have an injury or handicap that they wish the judges to know about, that information should go to the shinsa incho who will inform the other judges. At that point it is up to each judge to consider this information in their decision.
A judge must mostly consider what he should not do. One should not be lazy, slovenly, inattentive or biased.
A judge for jodo should consider the situation for a legal judge, this is a big responsibility, you have the life of a person in your hands. This should give you a good idea of the seriousness you should embody as a judge.
A judge should look hard! You should give your complete attention to the job. As such, a judge should be healthy. It is best not to have a cold, not to be dehydrated, not to be hung over. Above all else, a judge should respect the challengers.
A grading is not a test for failing people. Do not look for reasons to fail candidates.
There must be no fraternizing between the judges and the challengers, before or after the test. A judge may say to his students that they are “dead to him” for the day of the test. Before a test the judges are separated from the challengers, the shinsa incho may give a short talk before the test to explain the process, give the kata numbers, remind people to turn their cell phones off and similar things. The incho will then go to the judge’s room to collect the rest of the panel and bring them out. The panel will bow to the shomen, turn and bow to the room from behind their chairs, then sit. There is no prescribed side to sit from. Do not bump into each other. At the end of the grading the process is reversed. The judges may bow to each other outside this sequence. For example, judges bow to each other outside the hall, to shomen, to the room and sit. They stand at the end, go behind their chairs, bow to the room, then to shomen. Off to the side or in the judges’ room they may bow to each other.
There must be no talking amongst the panel and no looking at the other judges’ scores. Judges should look straight ahead. They should have a straight body and a straight heart.
The judge’s score sheet only has the numbers listed. No other identifying information should be there. The judges must give a decision based on the required techniques only. The challengers, even if familiar, should be treated as strangers you have never seen before.
There are no regulations for the number of mistakes a candidate can make before a fail. If there are automatic fail conditions, such as a time limit to the test, this must be noted to the candidates by the shinsa incho before the test is begun.
Judges may make notes during the test, and at the end should vote pass or fail for each candidate. At the end of the score sheet or perhaps the dan level, the judges sign their sheet, put it face down in front of them and the secretary collects the sheets. The secretary or another administrator will tabulate the results. The tabulated results go to the judges room at the end of the grading. The incho reviews them and signs off after any missing information is supplied by the other judges. At this point the incho dismisses the judges. The secretary writes the pass numbers on a sheet and this is posted for the challengers.
There are no comments made at the end of the test.
The shinsa incho must not attempt to influence the judges in any way. The incho may set the tone by saying something like “let’s be fair” but he cannot say something like “20% of the candidates should pass”. He cannot override a judge’s decision or change decisions after the votes have been tabulated.
In a grading 100% or 0% may pass. A judge must view the grading from a fair point. That judge also must NOT say to himself anything like “at this level I should only pass 20%”.
Can judges discuss the grading afterward? There is no rule on this but to say “did you pass so and so” is inappropriate. General comments or questions in the interest of making better judgements may be permissible.
The best way to improve as a judge is to compare yourself to other judges, for instance, see if you would pass or fail the candidates at a grading and then compare your scores to the results at the end.
There may be cases where judges are radically and consistently out of step with the pass/fail results of other judges. Those judges may be removed from the judging pool. In Canada, the only person with the authority to review the decisions made by judges, is the Chief Examiner. No one else has the right to see these results, not even the shinsa incho, should that be other than the Chief Examiner.
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These notes are presented here so that others who attended the seminar can contribute their notes so that I can fill in what I missed.
Seito Bugei Juku 