Grading theory

Read this first. Kung fu has no shared grading system, and many schools have no grades at all. Every association, and every instructor within it, sets the content, the order, the words, the spellings, the ages and the waiting times. The examples here are a general picture built from published documents. They are not any association's syllabus. Before a grading, the only syllabus that counts is the one your own club gives you. ^80,100,102

What gradings tend to have in common

With that caveat, this is what the published material shares.

• Basics: stances, hand techniques and kicks. Manchester Nam Pai Chuan lists hand work, leg work, set sparring and forms for each grade; Liverpool Hung Gar's children's gradings start with punches, kicks, stances and techniques and move on to forms. ^112,121
• A form for the grade. Nam Pai Chuan's first grades each name a form, and the UK Wing Chun Kung Fu Association grades on its own syllabus. ^102,121
• Partner work and sparring. The BKFA says a basic level of sparring is needed for gradings. ¹⁰⁰
• For senior grades, a panel. Lau Gar black sash gradings are held before a national panel, with a signed form from the student's own instructor. ¹⁰⁰

Three real examples of how it varies

• British Kung Fu Association, Lau Gar: eight sashes; the first after about 12 weeks; 1st degree black sash after 4 to 5 years on average, before a national panel. ¹⁰⁰
• UK Wing Chun Kung Fu Association: a Preliminary Grading after 4 to 5 months, then an intermediate class; instructors pass four grading levels before teacher training. ¹⁰²
• Liverpool Hung Gar: a grading system, but grading is not compulsory. ¹¹²

Three schools, three ways. Traditionally Wing Chun had no grades at all, and some schools still do not grade. ¹⁰²

Practice set: 15 example theory questions

These are examples of the kind of question a theory section might ask. Each answer shows its source. A Wing Chun school and a Lau Gar school would ask different questions, and an instructor may want a different answer or spelling; the instructor is right for that grading.

1. What did kung fu first mean? Any skill gained through long, hard effort, such as making tea. ²
2. What does wushu mean? Martial arts; in English it now usually means the modern sport. ^3,40
3. When, and for whom, was the Shaolin Monastery built? In 495, on Mount Song in Henan, for an Indian monk called Batuo. ^1,4
4. Why do historians call the Bodhidharma story a legend? It first appears in the Yijin Jing, a text of 1624 falsely credited to him, and it spread through a novel of 1904 to 1907. ^2,4
5. Who were the Five Elders, in legend? Jee Sin, Ng Mui, Bak Mei, Fung Dou Dak and Miu Hin. ⁵
6. Who founded Choy Li Fut, and when? Chan Heung, in 1836. ⁹
7. Name the four core forms of Hung Gar in Wong Fei-hung's line. Taming the Tiger, Tiger and Crane, Five Animals and Iron Wire. ⁸
8. What does sifu mean? Teacher: a title of respect, not a rank. ¹⁵
9. What are a sihing and a simui? A senior male classmate and a junior female classmate. ^6,15
10. How is the palm and fist salute made? The right fist is pressed into the open left palm at chest height. ⁴¹
11. Name Wing Chun's three empty hand forms, in order. Siu Nim Tau, Chum Kiu and Biu Ji. ⁶
12. What is chi sau? Sticky hands: a partner drill in which the forearms stay in contact. ⁶
13. What are the two halves of modern wushu? Taolu, the forms, and sanda, the fighting. ⁴⁰
14. When was the IWUF founded? On 3 October 1990, in Beijing. ⁴⁰
15. Who brought Lau Gar to Britain, and when? Grandmaster Jeremy Yau, in 1961, according to the BKFA. ¹⁰⁰

Questions only your sifu can answer

The techniques and forms for your next grade, your association's own terms and spellings, its own history questions, and anything about fees or dates. Those come from your instructor.