Graduation event

Only members of Finnish Aikido Federation member clubs can take part in the graduation. Those coming from other than Finland must get a written permission from their association or the head teacher of their country to participate. Similarly, if a Finnish member of the Finnish Aikido Federation wants to take the graduation abroad, the approval of the Finnish Aikido Federation is usually required.

You should come to the graduation event in good time. The initial warm-up is done on your own before the start of the actual test, as the opportunity does not include an initial warm-up. You must not be late for the event. If you are late, the exam is automatically moved to the next time. The test is formal, so there must be silence during the event and the examinees and their uke sit either in seiza or cross-legged.

Uke

In the graduation, the examinee chooses his/her own uke. When choosing an uke, it must be taken into account that the uke must not be your own teacher, the head teacher of your own club, or have a grade higher than the grade to be completed.

Dojo reiho

The event begins with the usual opening bows, during which all examinees sit facing the shomen and the examiner in front of them. If the test candicate has an uke who is not performing the graduation him- herself, then he/she sits on the right side wall facing the shomen.

When the initial bows have been performed, the examiner moves from the shomen, looking to the left corner, and calls the persons whose turn it is to take the test to the front, stating by name. When the invigilator announces his name, the person taking the belt test answers "Hai!" and bows in place. After that, according to the instructions, he bows to himself with the uke while saying "Onegai shimasu" and moves to the spot on the tatami indicated by the supervisor. The person taking the belt test always sits from the shomen, looking to the left or closer to the invigilator. If there is only one pair, they line up symmetrically in front of the shomen, first perform the shomen Rei together, and then bow to each other as the supervisor says "Otagai ni rei!" and remain waiting for further instructions.

If several couples are performing techniques at the same time, they each sit on the tatami with their partner so that the supervisor has an unobstructed view of their performance area.

If the test taker has two or more ukes, they position themselves so that the test taker is as above and the ukes next to him in a row. Bowings are done in the same way as with one uke. During the execution of the techniques, those ukes that are not needed at that moment sit on the right side, looking from the shomen.

The jo, bokken and tanto required for the belt exam are taken to the bows on the right side of the nage and uke. When the weapons are not in use, they are placed behind the original seats or outside the tatami, away from the performance area.

When the techniques are completed, we return to the same places as at the beginning and bow "Otagai ni rei!" -command to a couple or couples and bow together shomen rei. When everyone has done the techniques in turn, the examiner returns to the shomen and performs the final bows together. After the exam, the invigilator will announce the awarded belt values.

Audience

The audience following the belt test must arrive well in advance of the test. During the test, the audience must sit quietly in their place, and they must not leave the place of the test in the middle of the test. Photography during the exam is prohibited. Cell phones must be turned off for the duration of the event.

Exceptions

The rules of the belt exam can be deviated from with the supervisor's permission if special reasons require it.