The past week saw TKF hold the final gradings of the year. Over 50 students managed to grade whether it was online or at Queens Hill where a ‘normal’ grading was held for the first time since lockdown.
It has been a strange period during the last few months but at the same time it has been a relief to see students returning to training at venues. Of course, there are still restrictions, but the main thing was that students could start to receive the tuition they have longed for after several months of having to train online. As soon as venues reopened the main focus was being able to prepare students for gradings.
With restrictions still in place, the number of students per grading would have still needed to be limited but due to the success and popularity of the online gradings, there was the option for students to grade online. Between the dates Monday 12th October and Friday 16th October, a number of students would have to face the daunting moment of signing in to Zoom and eagerly awaiting for the instructor to sign in. The majority had already had experience of grading online whereas others decided to give it a go considering they hadn’t graded in June. The battle of ensuring they had enough room without knocking anything valuable over or accidently kicking the tv or beloved pet was a regular occurrence but certainly didn’t stop all our students pulling off some terrific results. A special shout out would have to go to the Little Ninjas who braved performing breakfalls and rolls on whatever floor they could find with a rug or carpet without whacking their elbows too hard on the floors. We also had a student perform a private grading during the week which was an alternative to the zoom gradings and the main gradings. This was a way of being able to come away from the online grading but without the distractions of a main grading. The pressure is still high during a private grading when an instructor has a constant eye on you.
The main event was on Saturday 17th October where, for the first time since lockdown, TKF were able to have a grading held indoors. There were some slight changes to the grading compared to what normally happens. Restrictions meant there was a very tight schedule for gradings to take place which meant the gradings were swifter and more intense. Safe to say even though there was no time for a pre grading lesson, this didn’t put off anyone who had to face the instructors carefully monitoring everyone from the grading panel. From little ninjas to adults, everyone performed brilliantly and came away with a smile on their faces. It’s always a fantastic feeling to see students who have performed well and trained consistently over lockdown as well as those who have shown commitment to make as many training sessions as possible since the return of venues.
You can see the full results of the gradings here;
Online Gradings
Little Ninjas
Cooper Bradford (Orange T-Shirt Pass)
Thomas Feildon (Yellow T-Shirt Pass)
Calisto Don-Daniel (Yellow T-Shirt Pass)
Luke O’Leary (Blue T-Shirt Pass)
Juniors & Adults
Inaaya Rasheed (Yellow Belt Pass)
Austin Murray (Yellow Belt Pass)
Ewan Corless (Green Belt Pass)
Boden Britton (Purple Belt Pass)
Sam Ives (Purple and White Belt Pass)
Kian Ives (Purple and White Belt Pass)
Matt Brewer (Purple and White Belt Pass)
Sienna Church (Purple and White Belt Pass)
Ashleigh Ives (Brown Belt Pass)
Alisha Matharoo (Brown Belt Pass)
Tanay Gadre (Brown and White Belt Pass)
Oliver Curtis (Brown and White Belt Pass)
Private Grading
Zoey Kaczor (Purple Belt Pass)
TKF Grading
Little Ninjas
George Blackburn (Yellow T-Shirt Pass)
Charlie Hall (Yellow T-Shirt Pass)
George Good (Yellow T-Shirt Pass)
Oliver Cusdin (Green T-Shirt Pass)
Luca Rayner (Green T-Shirt Pass)
Archie Ladbrooke (Blue T-Shirt Pass)
Jacob Higgins (Black T-Shirt/Orange Belt Pass)
Juniors & Adults
Kacper Slonski (Orange Belt Pass)
Glenn Norris (Red Belt Pass)
Halle-Rae Carvey (Red Belt Pass)
Tristram Smith (Red Belt Pass)
Sophie Jennison (Yellow Belt Pass)
Alfie Palmer (Yellow Belt Pass)
William Brown (Green Belt Pass)
Rafael Orfila (Green Belt Pass)
Alex Orfila (Green Belt Pass)
Izabel Tasheva (Green Belt Pass)
Matthew Rider (Green Belt Pass)
Janie Rider (Green Belt Pass)
Gabriel Magkrachi (Purple Belt Pass)
Johann Hasley (Purple Belt Pass)
Jessica Carter (Purple Belt Pass)
Richard Sly (Purple and White Belt Pass)
Indy Sly (Purple and White Belt Pass)
Hollie Thomas (Purple and White Belt Pass)
Jack Sutton (Purple and White Belt Pass)
Claire Jennison (Purple and White Belt Pass)
Syeira Graves (Purple and White Belt Pass)
Simon Howard (Purple and White Belt Pass)
Oscar Shuter (Brown Belt Pass)
Jake Jennison (Brown Belt Pass)
Ella Frary (Brown Belt Pass)
Ruby Mills (Brown Belt Pass)
Jake Norris (Brown Belt Pass)
Darren Humphrey (Brown and Double White Belt Pass)
Rhys Howard (Brown and Double White Belt Pass)
