Martials Arts and Making Cupcakes

Ok what’s the deal – what does baking cupcakes have to do with martial arts. Nothing – however testing the cupcakes to see if they are done is exactly what we do when we test our students for advanced rank. 

Many students, and parents, put a lot of emphasis on a student’s performance at a test. Traditionally the Master or Chief Instructor would tell the student they are ready to test and then put them through their paces in a formal setting.  Regardless of whether the student thought they were ready their instructor was usually pretty confident they knew what the outcome would be.  In many ways this was not really a test of the student instead it was a test of the instructor’s perception of the student’s ability.  Yes, the student “took” the test but the decision to test or not, was not really theirs.

A number of years ago I turned the traditional sense of martial arts testing on its head. Instead of telling the student they were testing I allowed them to “Request permission to take the entrance exam for next rank”. Once a student had met the requirements in regards to a minimum number of classes and a minimum amount of time since their last promotion they could submit a “Request to Test”. I was, and still am, pleasantly surprised by the students who were able to self evaluate well enough to know they were ready and those who would say not yet and voluntarily hold themselves back.  So where do the cupcakes come in…. I am getting there.

Does this mean everyone who participated in the test passed? Absolutely not! If there is no risk of failure then it is not really a test; instead it is merely a formality that does not serve to help the student grow and develop. When we started this new process students who were not ready, yet put themselves up for testing, learned a valuable life lesson on honestly assessing their own abilities. They learned to only “Request to Test” when they truly felt ready and not just because they “wanted” the next rank.  As time passed and we continued this “Request to Test” process I was able to discuss with students why they should not want to move to the next rank too soon.  I explained that a student who was struggling with their current material would find it no easier moving up to the next rank because we would only be adding more challenging material to their list of required knowledge.  Having this discussion with a student, or parent, after a student had failed the test allowed them to understand why they were not advancing but it did not take the sting out of the failure.  That’s where the cupcakes come in.

To help remove the sting of failing a test I began discussing during the classes leading up to the test the purpose of the test and more importantly the “Cupcake Analogy”. 

What is the “Cupcake Analogy” simply this – ask your students if they know how to or have helped bake cupcakes? Then ask if they know how to “test” if they are done?  If you are not familiar with baking cupcakes the answer is you stick a tooth pick in them and pull it out.  If there is “goo” on the tooth pick when you pull it out, what do you know? The cupcakes are not done.  If the tooth pick comes out clean they are done baking and are ready for the next step – icing!  The poke with the tooth pick is a test, what does it do?  It provides us with information.  

A martial arts test, or any test for that matter, is no different; it merely provides us with information that will help us make a decision on what happens next.  In the case of the cupcake – if there is “goo” we need to put the cupcakes back in the oven to cook some more.  In the case of the student if the test results say the student is not ready then they need to go back and finish cooking – they need more time in their current rank before we begin putting more challenging material on their plate.  I emphasize in class and at the testing event that the results of the test will be neither good nor bad – it will just provide us with information to help guide us to what needs to happen next.

By discussing this ahead of time in this manner we alleviate the negative stigma of not passing their test. There are no repercussions after the test for not passing – we simply help the student to refocus by giving them detailed feedback on where they performed strongly and which areas need work.  We spend time working with them on the areas of deficiency and start looking down the road to having them ready for the next formal test.

By putting the decision to test or not into the student’s hands it truly becomes a test for them.  They need to self assess beforehand to ask themselves if they are ready and then test whether their observations are correct or not.  We as the examiners and instructors are the ones who administer the test and decide the final result.  The ability to self evaluate is a critical skill necessary for success in martial arts and in life. Utilizing this process we help our students fine tune this skill and learn to make the right decisions in the circumstances life throws at them. 

Now time to bake some more cupcakes!