Question: What is Rank Advancement Camp?

Answer: It is a week-long training conducted daily, usually scheduled twice a year during the school season's spring break in March and summer in July. Students must have the Instructor's approval or recommendation for any student to participate in this camp. These students will then attend the camp, train for the week, and advance another belt rank during that time if they pass their testing requirements given to them.

The rank advancement camp is also known to others as a Make-Up Camp. It is sometimes utilized by parents or some students who have gotten one belt behind. The training hours are used to catch up or make-up on a cycle that they've missed either because of a vacation or unforeseen leave.

Question: Who Should Consider Attending This Event as a Make-Up Camp?

Answer: Since the Rank Advancement Camp is available only through the Instructor's recommendation, students who started new in between the cycle may not meet the attendance requirements for testing, and students that will miss some classes over the cycle (especially in summer) because of vacation and other unforeseen reasons are great candidates for this as a Make-Up Camp. 

The Make-Up camp will be an ideal alternative to paying $20/15-minute on private lesson fees or waiting another three months to test for rank. With the camp being utilized as a "Make-Up Camp," Instructors can potentially promote the students earlier or prevent a lapse in progression. 

Question: How Does This Work As a Make-Up Camp?

Answer: Students who would like to utilize the camp as Make-Up Camp can apply by clicking the button below.  Upon approval, students can attend the camp and will practice their current cycle's requirements,  They will not be given additional requirements but rather train to get more practice hours trained on their current cycle's technical requirements. With the additional hours of training and repetitions, they can qualify and hopefully pass their current cycle's testing requirements.  Please note that the students who get approved to attend the camp for this purpose will not be advancing another extra rank upon completing the camp. They will merely utilize the time available to practice and prepare for their current cycle's requirements. 

Question: What is the Required Number of Classes a Student Needs to Attend to Test in the Current Cycle? 

Answer: Students must have a minimum of 12 classes and a minimum of 3 Red Attitude Stripes to be eligible for your 3rd Curriculum Stripe.  To be eligible for Rank Testing, students must have 3 Curriculum Black Stripes, a minimum of 3 Red Attitude Stripes, and have attended at least 16 classes.  

Question: What is the Required Attendance Count During the Rank Advancement Camp?

Answer: The required hours to qualify for rank advancement testing are 12 hours of training equivalent to the same 16 regular classes (45-minute in duration). You You must have 3 Curriculum Stripes and a minimum of 3 Red Attitude Stripes. 

Question: How Does This Work As Rank Advancement Camp? 

Answer: The Instructor's recommendation for Rank Advancement Camp qualification is based on the student's attitude and technical ability.  Students qualified to attend the camp will receive an invitation to participate in this camp.  Camp attendees will be given new requirements to work on and tested during that week of training. Students will be allowed to advance an additional 1 belt rank, provided they meet and pass the given requirements written in their Rank Advancement Curriculum Study Guide.  Stripings will be conducted throughout the week.  Students who pass the testing will be presented their new belt in the upcoming graduation this current cycle. 

Question: Do I Still Need to Attend my Regular Scheduled Classes During the Week?

Answer: Yes, this is important for you to keep working on and test for the current cycle's belt requirements. 

Question: Does it Mean I Get to Promote Two Belts This Cycle For Rank Advancement Camp?

Answer: Yes, if you pass the current cycle's requirements and the rank advancement camp additional requirements, you will be awarded two belts during graduation this cycle. Please note that the rank advancement camp does not include your testing fee on this particular belt level. 

Question: Will I Have Access to the Videos of the Curriculum Being Covered During the Rank Advancement Camp?

Answer: No. This is why the students are pre-qualified to do this by the Instructors based on their attitude in class and technical ability to follow, memorize and get the techniques quicker than others. All students only have access to their current cycle's curriculum requirement videos. 

Question: I am an Adult Student and Unable to Take a Week Off for This, Can I Still Take the Rank Advancement Camp?  

Answer: If you are only going to miss only a portion of the week camp, you might still be able to take the Rank Advancement Camp provided you make up some hours in the evening for training or testing. Adult students who are unable to take even a portion of the scheduled week camp can submit an application by clicking the link below.  Approval on these applications will be handled on a case by case basis.  Some options might include taking additional private lessons to complete the given requirements for testing. 

Question: I am in the Philippine Combatives Program and my Child is in the Lil'Dragons Program. Is This Event Available For Us? 

Answer:  Philippine Combatives adult students can take the camp based on Instructor's approval. Please click on the link below to apply.  Unfortunately,  due to the length of training time and the attention to details and self-discipline needed on this camp,  it is currently not available for Lil' Dragons students at this time. 

Question: If I am a Brown Belt, Can I Attend the Rank Advancement Camp?

Answer: Yes, it is the "highest" belt allowed for a student to take the Rank Advancement camp. Students that are "high brown" levels and up are no longer eligible to take this camp. Students currently in the brown belt level can significantly benefit from taking the Rank Advancement Camp if they want to become eligible for August 2023 Black Belt testing.  

Question: How Beneficial is Taking the Rank Advancement Camp?

Answer: Our Black Belt testings are only conducted twice a year, in February and August. Remember that it takes about 3 months to achieve each belt rank. For a student to qualify for Black Belt testing, they have to be one rank below Black Belt by a certain time.  Meaning, the student needs to be in the Conditional 1st Degree Black Belt rank (black with white in the middle) in November (to test for February) or Conditional 1st Degree rank in May (to Black Belt test in August). If you plan your training schedule accordingly, you can save between 3-6 months of wait time for Black Belt testing by taking advantage of the rank advancement camp if you qualify to participate in it. 

Question: Do I Have to Take the Rank Advancement Camp So I Can Test For Black Belt Level Earlier?

Answer: No. This is an optional camp and available only with your Instructor's approval. Since Black Belt exams like mentioned above are only conducted twice a year, some students will have a gap (waiting time) even when they are already at the 1st Degree Conditional level. Usually, the maximum amount of time a student would experience this waiting time would be for two cycles. This is looked at as a benefit by others as the student will have that much extra time to prepare their Black Belt testing requirements and practice their technical requirements for the high demands of Black Belt testing.

When is the Next Rank Advancement / Make Up Camp? 

Answer:  All Martial Arts International events can be found on our website at www.MartialArtsInternational.com under the "ABOUT US" tab.

How Do I Register for the Camp? 

Answer: You will get an email with instructions on how to register for the camp. Registration has a date deadline and additional fees are added after the deadline. Please check your spam folder to make sure that you are receiving our emails accordingly.  If you have any questions regarding your possible invitation and or application, please let us know.  If you feel that this event is something you can benefit from either for Rank Advancement or utilizing it as a Make-Up Camp, please apply by clicking the button below.