Kishimoto sensei judging notes 2013

• Pass fail for challengers is tough to pinpoint. There are judging points in the English iaido manual so read them. 
• Up to 5 dan is local panels. The IKF rules are based on the ZNKR but are modified. They are often more lenient. In the Zones there are issues dependent on the country. Tests can be easy or very hard so how to establish a uniform standard across the world? This is where the judges need a uniform understanding of what the standard is. 
• The IKF rules are based on the ZNKR but there are variations allowed in the number of judges, the number needed to pass and so on.

• Kyu level grades are different than dan grades and they are not discussed in the book beyond stating that ikkyu is "close to shodan". Kyu to shodan times vary in Japan, and are set by the local area. In Japan ikkyu is 5 kata, free choice. 
• What is the pass or fail requirement? Kyu is the first grading, look at the uniform, the etiquette, and the four items designated in the judging notes (nuki tsuke, kiri tsuke etc. )

• Shodan is more strict but there is no minimum time between 1kyu and shodan so take this into account. 
• The uniform must be neat and tidy but need not be new. Some people are not rich so a clean, mended tidy uniform is fine. 
• The four items mentioned are saho and uniform must be "correct" the parts of the waza must be "correct". For shodan if they use the sageo correctly, keito, taito are correct, and all is smooth, this is good for shodan. 
• Ikkyu vs shodan: For example, if the sageo is past the end of the saya, it's OK for ikkyu, the judges may say "fix it". It's the first testing and they are nervous so help them to pass. If they do the last reiho instead of the first one to begin, we can't pass or help them so we must make sure the teachers teach this correctly. Reiho is very simple so everyone can do this from the first. 
• For shodan, for example if the koiguchi is open for the bow we cannot pass them because they have already "cut the koiguchi" For ikkyu we can tell them to close it. If the student enters the space on the wrong foot we can say "this is the fault of the teacher" and pass them. 
• More frequently on the uniform, the front is up and the back down. This is strictly a fail, but for 1K and 1D they may not know how to dress yet. So: put in a system where the students check each other for dress before the grading. It is not good to fail for dress, the tachi-ai can fix the uniform, even the registration people can give help and say "your hakama is not correct, fix it"
• If you look down on your noto you can pass for 1K but not for 1D

• What is "correct"? You can't really use the sword until 4 or 5 dan so what is correct before then? If you can recognize the 5 kata the 1kyu choose, you can likely pass them. The book says that for 1dan you must do nuki tsuke accurately etc. so the cuts must be to the target to pass. 
• At 1dan you should hold the tsuka correctly. If a 1dan cuts through a target and does not stop correctly, check the other kata and see if this was just a mistake. If the 1dan draws more accurately, has a better chiburi and noto than at 1kyu, you can pass them.
  

• 2-3 dan seems to be a problem outside Japan, some countries fail these more often. Some places require 2 years for 1-2dan and this leads to beautiful 3dans. 
• If your sword rocks on your bow, this is a fail at dan levels. If challengers have problems here, go back to the teachers and tell them to teach it properly. 
• 3dan is close to 4dan, some countries are very tough at this level. If the nidan test is very hard it seems easier to get sandan. At 3dan a pass should mean the movements are seen as iai, the student has a kasso teki and the waza is done with respect to that. Metsuke, tenouchi, hasuji must be solid. If there is no gross deviation, this is OK
• If they have good metsuke, ki ken tai ichi, spirit, ashi and kiri are good, posture is good, (ie close to the 4dan requirements) they are good to pass. They should be thinking about kasso teki and have some understanding of riai.
  

• 4 and 5 dan
• 4dan is different than 3dan, they must have good kihon and metsuke, 4dan is going after 5dan and 5dan is a very high level. A story, a 4dan challenger had a kojiri that hit the floor often during a test, they asked Kisshimoto sensei about this. He said "did you ask why?" The challenger said he made a mistake putting the sword in the belt and he could not prevent the tapping. Kisshimoto sensei said that it was a mistake and he knew it so was not likely to do it again, he will fix it so he would probably be OK to pass. 
• 4 and 5 dan should not be nervous, if their uniform is bad you cannot pass them or you won't see an improvement. At this level you must fail them to force an improvement in their iai. 
• If someone is going for 4dan and their waza is good but their personality is bad (safety problems etc at the grading itself) what should you do? This is a question for each judge. If they display poor manners at the grading you can let them in to test (you can't just kick them out the door) but what do you do? 
• Up to 3dan women seem to pass more often, after that because of kihaku and strength, men catch up and perhaps even pass more often. 
• Up to 3dan a patchwork of technique taken from this or that teacher is OK. From 4dan and up the iai must be their own, it must be clear and this is easiest if they have a single teacher. 
• Training counts, if you see an improvement from one test to the next, take this into account. 
• All the moves at higher levels must make sense as budo. 
• Start and finish line. This has been discussed a lot. Challengers must be within 30 cm behind the line at the start of the test while standing and at the end while standing. This means the knees will be over the line on the first bow.