We believe clear guidelines and transparancy are important to guarantee the proper functioning of our school. On this page you can find a number of agreements each member has to take into account.

Insurance

Every member is obligated to insurance him/herself on a yearly basis through the school, even though you have your own sport insurance. The insurance is provided by Sportievak vzw. Even though we try to safeguard the safety of everyone at all times and chances of injuries are low, an accident can always happen. In case of an accident or injury, you always fill out the declaration form.

The yearly registration fee also includes your sport insurance.

Registrations and fees

  • All members who renew their membership get priority during the registration period.
  • A registration is only considered valid after payment has been received.
  • In case there are less than 5 registrations for a class, that class will be canceled for the season and you will be fully refunded.
  • A 10-class card is always valid for one year after purchase.
  • Refunds on cards are not possible.
  • Refunds on subscriptions are possible until the third class you’ve taken under that subscription.
  • After the third class, no refunds are allowed unless due to long term force majeure of the teachers.
  • Different rates are applied for children and adults.

Practicals

  • Children and teenagers have to meet the minimum age requirements before joining the classes.
  • We always train barefoot, unless a medical condition requires you to wear shoes.
  • Affiliated members should always wear an abadá of the group and their corda.
  • New members are not immediately required to purchase a uniform. From the first batizado this becomes mandatory.
  • Always be present well in advance so that you are ready at the start of practice.

You can alwyas contact us with any questions.

Grades

An overview of the grading system for youth and adults can be found on the page about our organisation.

Adults

If a member wants to become eligible for a higher corda, he needs to fulfill the requirements of the evaluation system. The rules and process of the evaluation system are documented seperately, which are only available for registered members. These documents can be easily requested with the teachers.

We have defined over 180 competences that can be acquired. These are divided into different categories like defences, kicks, acrobatics, musicality, general knowledge, attitude and so on.

The competences or skills that belong to a certain grade are the absolute minimum expectations we set for each grade. That of course doesn’t mean you should shield yourself from skills which don’t make a part of your grade yet. To pass an evaluation you must achieve a score of at least 90%.

In addition to gaining the necessary skills, seniority on a grade also plays a role. You must wear each corda for at least a certain period of time before you become eligible for the next grade A seniority year only counts when you have actually attended the batizado. In exceptional cases of illness or force majeure this can be discussed with the trainers.

Evaluations are held once a year, and the results are not announced before the batizado. After the batizado the student can ask the trainers for his evaluation report and feedback. Evaluations take place during the regular trainings. The teachers have the right to decide whether an evaluation will be announced beforehand.

A new grade can potentially be acquired during the yearly batizado in Belgium (you cannot receive a new corda at an international event). This is directly related to the outcome of your evaluation. Whether or not you passed the evaluation is a strong indicator of eligibility for a new corda.

By default a positive evaluation means you will receive a new corda, and a negative evaluation means the opposite. However, there are some exceptions which the teachers can take into account when determining if you could get a new corda or not.

The result of an evaluation is not binding. Teachers can always decide whether or not to award a graduation, regardless of the result. For example in following cases:

  • The student is incapable to learn certain skills due to mental or physical limitations, but shows exceptional motivation and keeps training. The student can counter the lack of these skills with other competences. In this case the teacher can decide to award a new grade.
  • The students has mastered all required skills, but shows a lack of respect or maturity, or his attibute doesn’t match with what is expected within the group. Then the teachers can decide to not award a new grade.

The Mestre always has the final call and can overrule the decision of the teachers. A student has to go through all grades and can never skip a corda. We will never evaluate a student for a corda he or she doesn’t quality for.

Youth

A separate grading system is used for our youth. Their cordas can be recognized by their white base and colored points, as opposed to the fully colored cordas of the adults. During their first batizado, new members get a white corda or a white corda with one yellow point, depending on when in the year they started training.

Each year a student gets a chance at earning a new corda. The requirements to get a corda are the following:

  • Train at least once a week in our school.
  • Be present at least 75% of the classes.
  • Have a good attitude towards the teacher and other students.

For the youth, we don’t define any other requirements like with the adults. The managers of the group maintain the right to withhold cordas, when with good reason. We also define the following rules:

  • If a student has reached the highest possible graduation within the youth category, then he will keep wearing that one until he transitions to the adults.
  • If a student didn’t attend the previous batizado, we will never award two cordas at the same time. You can only receive one corda per year.
  • A grade can also never be skipped, each student always gets the corda that follows his or her current corda.

As long as a member is taking classes with the youth, (s)he will be categorized in the youth system. If a student becomes 16 years old, he or she can join the adults upon the start of the new season (September). Starting from then, the student will be put in the adult grading system and (s)he will have to comply to those skill requirements.

At the next troca de cordas, the student will receive a fully colored corda. Which corda that is, depends on the evaluation which has taken place beforehand. Generally speaking chances are it would be an orange or orange-blue corda. A student who has been training for 10 years and has a kids’ corda with two purple points will thus not keep the same colors when transitioning to the adults.


Last update: 20 March 2022.