We would like to congratulate all of the students who attempted grading on Saturday 6th June at our first ever ZOOM grading. You are now a unique part our Club's history and we really must applaud your bravery for having a go. The pressure to perform at your best in such a strange environment must have added to the challenge of the grading itself! Small groups of students were put to the test under the watchful eye of the Chief Instructor Paul Wolstencroft Sensei and the newly qualified JKS Grading examiner and Assistant Chief Instructor Mike Beckwith Sensei (congratulations to you too!). Many Class Instructors also dialled in to watch and support their students. Then add in to the mix anyone watching you at home (your hopeful parents). The intensity must have been 50 times worse than normal dojo gradings! Nobody could ever doubt that those who passed were very deserving and have truly earned their next belts. You were ready to make that step to the next level and you must now continue to train hard and set your sights on a new goal. Those who did not pass, must be gentle with themselves and should be so proud that they had a go under such exceptional circumstances. Now is the time to dust yourself off, get better and try again! The feedback from both Paul Sensei and Mike Sensei has been fantastic and there were some stand out performances worthy of double grading including: John Delaney Willis & Harry Thomson grading from white to red belt and also Lindsey Gibbons & James Rigby grading from red straight to green. Incredible work, well done. The examiners were particularly impressed by Anne Marie Alger, Zena Clarke, Connor Goodall, Dexter Earley, Katie, Luke and Grace Wilson. All scored highly in each area. Seven students attempted brown belt and all seven were successful. Brilliant work! Our new brown belts are:Daniel Price, Callum Baker, Lewis Alger, Hannah Towler, Luke Bradshaw Swann, Mia Glynn and Jack Yates. What an outstanding bunch of students, all have been ever present on our ZOOM sessions and all work very hard both in and out of the dojo. We are so pleased and proud of you all. Keep it up and well done. All the belts, cards and certificates have already been sent out this morning and will be delivered by first class post. Hopefully, you should receive them tomorrow. If you are grading this Saturday, we would like to wish you the best of luck and urge you to clear as much space as you possibly can for your grading session. Make sure you are warmed up and stretched off and do your very best. That is all we can reasonably ask. Remember, we have sessions taking place on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's that solely focus on your grading syllabus. We would recommend you attend these this week to help you prepare. The link for this Saturday's grading will be sent out to email addresses on Friday 12th June.