JKA-Malta is an independent organisation established in 2001 to represent and promote JKA Karate-Do in the Maltese islands.
JKA MALTA (Japan Karate Association Malta) and its Logo are Trademarks (TM/48337) registered in the name of:
JKA (Japan Karate Association)
23-15, Kouroku
2 chome, Bunkyo-ku
Tokyo 112-0004
Japan
JKA Malta is directly affiliated to and recognised by the Japan Karate Association/ World Federation as well as JKA Europe and SportMalta.
Its raison d’être is to keep alive and propagate the JKA KARATE TRADITION in an age when emulations and variants are more numerous than ever.
JKA-Malta focuses on the proper passing-on of the ART of Karate-Do.
The grading and teaching standards which JKA promotes are some of the most stringent in the world of martial arts.
This is an advantage actually! Dan grades (1st degree black belt and above), are awarded directly by the JKA and registered within their headquarters in Japan. Anyone who claims having obtained a JKA Dan grade should have a JKA Dan-registration number. A list of 5th Dan holders and above can be checked freely by anyone on the JKA international website. (www.jka.or.jp).
Furthermore, to be able to award grades to their students, JKA instructors must attend specialized ‘Examiner’ courses and obtain teaching and grading licenses. At international training camps which are regularly organized in various countries, it is not uncommon to have 6 or even more masters, all of them 6th to 8th Dan, sitting at the examiners’ table during Dan grade testing.
These stringent standards ensure that the level of JKA Karate is faithfully kept at the highest level, no matter the country or association which is affiliated with it. JKA-Malta instructors have to renew or upgrade their teaching license ranking every 3 years, to ensure that the level is kept up, and the instructor is not ‘sitting on his laurels’. Your Dan grades will not just be awarded by any single self-styled Karate instructor, but by a panel of the most senior and professional Japanese Karate masters – the highest guardians of the art at the moment.
Your instructor will be glad to show you his latest instructor, examiner & judge licenses.
Please note that any instructor who has not obtained (and renewed) his instructor licenses directly from the JKA, cannot claim to be teaching JKA Karate!
A beginner starts with a white belt, and as he advances through the grades he/she regularly graduates to different coloured belts until black belt. One can see the progress through gradually darker belts as symbolizing the accumulated work which the student goes through during his training. Couloured belts are a relatively recent addition to Karate. They are there mainly to allow even a foreign or guest instructor to have a good idea of what a student is expected to know, and as motivating goals for the student as s/he advances through the ranks. However, it has to be said again that one should not give too much importance to the ‘belts’, nor to how quickly they are obtained. It is far better to advance more slowly, but steadily, and acquire solid skills, then to be in a hurry to obtain grades. As always, it’s the actual skill and knowledge obtained which matter, not wearing a ‘badge’.
A Karate ‘Gi’, (training uniform) can be obtained from any martial art equipment store, or for your convenience, through your instructor. It is no more expensive than a branded Tee Shirt (probably much less in fact). A good quality ‘Gi’ will last you for many years of training. It is recommended that you eventually obtain more than one uniform, so that you always have a fresh one available.
JKA Malta Honbu Dojo - Hamrun: +356 9947 8306
JKA Malta Kita Dojo - Mosta: +356 7997 0528
Our GOALS, for which we strive tirelessly, are:
Four things:
The Japan Karate Association have some of the strictest requirements for Dan grading, to ensure consistent quality throughout the more than 100 countries in which it is represented. It is just not the case that grades are 'awarded' if not for actual competency.
JKA Examiners must possess proper grading licenses, obtained after specific theoretical and practical examinations. The allowable Examiner's Licence Rank, according to dan grade is:
D class = 3 DAN (25 years old or older);
C class = 4 DAN;
B class = 6 DAN;
A class = 7 DAN
These licences must be reviewed and renewed or upgraded every 3 years.
The minimum examiner's rank required for a JKA-registered dan grading is:
To grade a JKA SHODAN, the Examiners required are 1A Class or (1B + 1C) or above
To grade a JKA 2 DAN, the Examiners required are 1A or (1B + 3C) or above
To grade a JKA 3 DAN, the Examiners required are (1A + 1B) or above
To grade a JKA 4 DAN, the Examiners required are (1A + 2B) or above
To grade a JKA 5 DAN, the Examiners required are (2A + 2B) or above
For example: In order to be able to grade a student to 1st Dan, a single grading examiner must be as a minimum a 7th Dan and the holder of a current Examiner 'A' licence.
Otherwise there must be a 6th Dan with a B licence and a 4th Dan with a C licence.
This is unfortunately a far cry from what happens in other organisations…that is why any Dan grade is seldom equivalent to a JKA Dan grade.