| Bando does not stress incessant testing for rank. A student cannot be eligible for black belt testing until a minimum of five years of training has been completed.
Students begin their training as white belts and keep their white belt for a minimum of two years. At the conclusion of one year of training, the student may be eligible for the first rank test, which confers the right to wear a black-and-white version of the system logo on the student’s uniform. At the end of two years, minimum, the student may be eligible to test for promotion to green belt. At the end of three years, minimum, the student may be eligible to test for brown belt.
Once brown belt rank has been earned, the student must prepare for a grueling black belt exam conducted over a long weekend in the humid Ohio summer. The student cannot be eligible for black belt testing until a minimum of five years of training has been completed. Prior to being admitted to the black belt test, the student must be recommended for promotion, complete First Aid/CPR training, compete in sparring in either the Kickboxing or Middle-Style Nationals, and submit a technical paper on a relevant aspect of the Bando system. A demanding written exam about Bando must also be passed in the course of the black belt examination.
There are no social promotions in Bando. There are no guarantees of passing a test. It is not rare for the failure rate to exceed the pass rate at the annual black belt testing event.
Upon passing the black belt exam, the candidate is promoted and is entitled to wear the coveted red-white-and-blue “full member” patch in addition to the black belt. Contrary to other systems, Bando uses a black belt ranking system of “levels”, not “degrees”. So, a new black belt would be awarded the rank of “first level of achievement.” Minimum time-in-grade periods exist for subsequent promotions, as well as physical requirements, increasing requirements for knowledge of the system and for support of the system. The highest rank in American Bando is the ninth level of achievement, held at this time by Grandmaster Gyi. |
