Up until 1989, you had to be a minimum of 16 years old before you could attempt to become a 1^st Dan (Black Belt). Since more children were practising Karate, in 1989 the Technical Board and the Executive Committee decided that if you were between 14 and 16 years old, you could attempt to become a Junior 1^st Dan (Black Belt). If you successfully passed the Junior 1^st Dan exam, you then had to take an adult 1^st Dan exam when you were 16 years old. 
Grading examinations are invariably nervous times, and therefore they are a test of one’s mental approach as well as a test of the students’ technical ability and understanding of the techniques. The students must also show they have a long-term commitment, dedication and loyalty to the ethos and teachings of the Wado Academy,
The Wado Academy holds two Dan Grade examinations each year, one at the end of the winter course (February) and one at the end of the summer course (July). The course lasts for five days. The course starts at 6.00am till 7.00am which is primarily fitness and basic Karate training, then from 10.00am till 12noon the training is taught each day by one of the following world’s top Japanese Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Instructors: M Shiomitsu 8^th Dan Hanshi, T Takamizawa 7^th Dan Sensei, K Sakagami 7^th Dan Sensei, Y Iwasaki 6^th Dan Sensei and F Sugasawa 6^th Dan Sensei, this part concentrates on all aspects of Wado-Ryu Karate-Do. Then from 12noon till 2.00pm students are divided by grades into groups; each group being taught by one of the Japanese Karate Instructors who focus on what the student need for their next grade. The group that contains students that are hoping to attempt 1^st Dan or above on this course or the next course, are taken by the course chief instructor Masafumi Shiomitsu 8^th Dan Hanshi. This gives him the opportunity to see how each student is preparing themselves to be (possibly) ready to attempt a Dan Grade examination. The Dan grading is held on day five of the course from 2.45pm onward.
In 1995 two Junior students (under 16 years old) from Stroud Wado-Ryu Karate Club decided to attend the Wado Academy Summer Course and attempt the Junior 1^st Dan (Black Belt) examination at the end of the course. The two junior students were Jade Gardiner aged 14 years and 6 weeks from Cashes Green and attended Archway School in Stroud. She had success in local competitions as a cadet. And Sally Jupp aged 15 who lived in Kingswood near Wotton-Under-Edge and attended Katherine Lady Berkeley School in Wotton-Under-Edge. She also had a great deal of success in competitions.
During the last week in July 1995, the girls travelled down to Barnstaple, on the North Devon coast, to take part in the Wado Academy’s 1995 Summer Course. The training on the course was as described above. By the end of the course M Shiomitsu 8^th Dan Hanshi had decided that the two Junior students (Jade and Sally) from Stroud Wado-Ryu Karate Club although under 16 years old, could attempt the Adult 1^st Dan (Black Belt) examination.
The 1995 Summer Course Dan Grading panel was Masafumi Shiomitsu 8^th Dan Hanshi, T Takamizawa 7^th Dan Sensei, K Sakagami 7^th Dan Sensei, Y Iwasaki 6^th Dan Sensei and F Sugasawa 6^th Dan Sensei. A Dan Grading examination lasts approximately four hours covering all aspects of Karate from basics to free fighting. The students then have an extremely nervous wait of approximately forty minutes until the results are announced. Both Jade and Sally were two of five successful students to become adult 1^st Dan (Black Belts) out of the nine students who had attempted the 1^st Dan examination. Jade and Sally were the first and only under 16 years old to become an adult 1^st Dan (Black Belt). Jade who was 14 years and 6 weeks is still the youngest student to become an adult 1^st Dan (Black Belt). 

Back at their Club in Stratford Park Leisure Centre, Stroud it is tradition for any Club member who has passed a Dan Grading exam, to free fight with every other student at the Club.

Jade Gardiner kicking and Sally Jupp with her Dan Grade Certificate, 1995.