Moving to Funakoshi Karate International South Africa comes with a revised grading schedule and more importantly, a revised grading syllabus. Taking into account that gradings are now held on a bi-annual basis, reaching that coveted black belt status should potentially take a student five years to realize. So something well worth working towards in other words!

The following list details is thus the new required syllabus for each belt level advancement, ordered from lowest to highest ranking:

Grading from White to Yellow

  • F1A oi-tsuki
  • F1B elbow form
  • Kata 1
  • Kicking form
  • Kamae kata 1
  • Basic kihon and kumite

Grading from Yellow to Orange

  • F2A mae geri keage
  • F2B nidan tsuki
  • Elbow kata
  • Kata 2
  • Kamae kata 1
  • Basic kihon and kumite

Grading from Orange to Green

  • F3A kiba dachi
  • F3B mae geri kekomi
  • Kata 3
  • Kamae kata 1 & 2
  • Kihon and kumite

Grading from Green to Blue

  • F4A yoko geri keage
  • F4B ren geri
  • Kata 4
  • Kamae kata 1 & 2
  • Kihon and kumite

Grading from Blue to Purple

  • F5A mawashi geri
  • Kata 5
  • Kamae kata 1, 2 & 3
  • Light free sparring

Grading from Purple to Brown 3

  • F6A yoko geri kekomi
  • Kata 1 – 5
  • Kamae kata 1, 2 & 3
  • Kihon & kumite

Grading from Brown 3 to Brown 2

  • F7A matopa geri
  • Kamae kata 1, 2 & 3
  • Teki Shodan
  • Kumite & kihon

Grading from Brown 2 to Brown 1

  • F8A combination
  • Kata Kachi
  • Kata 1 – 5
  • Free sparring

Grading from Brown 1 to Black

  • Kata 1 – 5
  • All grading forms
  • Kata Kachi
  • Teki Shodan
  • Kamae kata 1, 2 & 3
  • Kumite