Yondan: What Changed Between 3rd and 4th Dan

This summer I passed my Yondan grading with the IJJO, which makes me a 4th Dan. It was a demanding grading, and the hardest part wasn't any one technique. It was keeping my pace under control once the adrenalin kicked in. I'll also admit I'm not a fan of the nunchaku, but more on that below.

What Yondan Is

Yondan is 4th Dan in Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, the grade after Sandan. I wrote about passing my 3rd Dan in 2023.

What the Grading Covers

It's a full syllabus, not a highlight reel. You're tested on striking and kicking, defences against punches and kicks, and escapes from grabs and chokes. There are longer sequences where the attacker keeps changing what they do, so you can't rely on a drill you've rehearsed. There's revision of earlier material, and there's a weapons section.

The real test isn't any single technique. It's holding the whole lot together, in order, under the eyes of the examiners, while you're running on adrenalin and tired.

Preparing

Nothing clever. I kept up my regular training, and I read and retyped my notes. I keep them as a syllabus git repo that I maintain myself, organised by belt, with my own notes alongside each technique. It's a very organised approach, if I say so myself. Typing a technique out again makes you read every line of it.

The Weapons

Each Dan grade since Shodan has added a weapon: stick, then sword, then tonfa, and now nunchaku. You also revise the earlier ones.

I don't like nunchaku as much as other weapons. I got through it, and I'm glad it's done. The next weapon, in Godan, is the sai, and I'm much happier about that one.

On the Day

Adrenalin does strange things to your pace. Mine took over and I started going faster than I should. I noticed quickly and slowed down. I was still a little quick, but not too quick, and I caught a couple of small errors as they happened. That's the part I'm happiest with. Spotting and fixing a mistake yourself, without being told, is a skill, and it's one I want the students I mentor to have.

What's Next

My teaching hasn't changed much. What has changed is where my attention goes. I still mentor the adults at IJJO, and my focus now is helping the 2nd Dans get through their upcoming 3rd Dan gradings. I know what that grading asks of them, because I've been through it, and it's good to pass on that knowledge.