Tae Kwon Do Tutors | A Martial Arts Blog

It’s testing day! Excited? Nervous? Both? It’s certainly normal to be both. You’ll be standing in front of a panel of instructors, grading your performance. But they’re not your instructors today. Today, they’re your examiners. I’ve written a bit about examiners and what testings can be like, but here is what it’s like to be the instructor sit behind the desk and evaluate students on a testing day, based on my experience. In essentia, this is typically what my schedule looks like on testing day.

6 am: That’s right, you have to wake up super early to prepare for a testing if you’re the examiner. Especially if you’re the primary examiner. And it’s a Saturday too! If you’re leading the testing you are in charge, so you should probably be prepared.

6:15 am: Why are you still in bed?! Get up! Get ready! Eat! You have to look professional and (now this part is very important) be a satiated and fair judge. One should not judge on an empty stomach. Then a person is just going to be cranky, and therefore a rather harsh judge. No one wants a harsh judge. They want a fair judge.

But the bed…it’s so comfy..,

7 am: Gotta show up to the school and clean up. What, you think the dojang cleans itself? Grab that mop and clean up! Hey, if one of the assistants shows up early, they can always help with chores, right?

8 am: Brief your assistants. Ideally, they arrive before the examiners do. Also, if they’re just hanging around, have them warm up and grab the necessary tools for testing. They are your assistants after all.

9 am: it’s time for the first testing! Usually this starts with the little tigers (that means 3-5 year olds). Aren’t they just adorable? Of course, no one is too hard on them. Who judges a 5 year old harshly? Actually, I have met some instructors… 

10 am: Beginners. I mean, they’re not little tigers but like… they’re kinda funny to watch. It can sometimes be hard to keep a straight face, but you gotta be professional! It’s particularly amusing to see how impressed their family members are. It’s a hammer fist, it’s not that hard. Though it is quite satisfying to watch students be so excited when they break their first board. It makes me happy to see them happy. I also try to remember, it’s their first board break; they haven’t done one before.

11am (though at this point it’s usually 11:30… the beginners take forever!): The intermediates start. One of them is late though. Push ups for him! These are the ones that actually get judged. I mean, they know more than the very basic concepts. At this point they should know how to properly punch, so they should be graded properly. A’s, b’s, c’s… that sort of thing. One of the students got a d, but thankfully no one needed a re-test.

Noon: lunch time! We set the time for the next testing as 1pm because the testings often go way past the clock. I mean, why must it take them so long to break just one board? I suppose I should have more sympathy, but the fear is sometimes palpable. Thankfully I don’t have to share my lunch, my assistants brought their own. I also relax for a bit. Judging is surprisingly tiring!

Ok, it doesn’t usually look like this, but I think it should!

1 pm: Now for the advanced test. Now I start to focus on the details. Those red belts better have Taeguk Chil Jang nailed! We practiced a lot this week and they know they can do it. The question is, will they? Testing the more advanced students can be quite satisfying because you know how hard they’ve worked because you were there to see it (usually).

2 pm: Black belts. We like to separate the black belts from the advanced students, because this isn’t as much a test as it is an evaluation and a check up in preparation of their next big black belt exam. I mean, getting ready for black belt testing is stressful enough, you really want to do more testing? Besides, once you’ve done a big black belt exam, normal belt testing feels like a quiz in comparison. Nonetheless, it is still good to check and note a black belt’s progress. When they’re ready they can test.

And that’s the end of testing. Usually I take the assistants out for food as a reward. They earned it with their commendable patience. To be honest, I’m also procrastinating cleaning up all those board shards. Sure, I’ve got a vacuum but still!

7pm: Demo team class! What, you thought the demo team got a break on testing day? No way! Even the ones that tested know how important it is to stay on top of their game! Today we worked on bicycle kicks. Gotta nail that technique!

9pm: After ending class and vacuuming (again!) I get to sleep. It’s so nice. A fun day, but a tiring day. I love doing testing but I gotta say; I love sleeping too. 

There you go! There is the outline of an instructor’s day of testing. So, now you know what it’s like to test other people. Pretty fun, right? Watching my students test often brings me joy at their success and helps me to be a better instructor! 

Good luck at your next testing, and be respectful to your examiner… they might be vacuuming later!

Disclaimer: This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only. All martial arts techniques and exercises should be supervised by a trained martial arts instructor in order to prevent injuries and to ensure the proper technique is utilized. The information on these pages and videos is meant only to reinforce and supplement the instruction given at your martial arts classes. To properly understand these techniques, you need to learn them from a martial arts instructor who can provide you with an in-depth explanation of the technique, help correct your mistakes, answer your questions and detail how the technique should be utilized. In addition, all martial arts techniques and training should be used safely and responsibly.