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Stripe/Theme System Management

Configure curriculum tracking, award stripes, and monitor student progression

For InstructorsCore Operations
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1. Overview

The stripe/theme system in DojoMaster provides a flexible way to track curriculum progression within each belt rank. Stripes represent specific skills, techniques, or curriculum themes that students must master before advancing to the next belt level.

Key Features

  • Flexible Curriculum Tracking: Define custom stripe types for your club's curriculum
  • Two Award Models: Automatic (class-based) or Manual (assessment-based) stripe awarding
  • Belt-Specific Requirements: Configure different stripe requirements for each belt rank
  • Grading Integration: Stripe completion affects grading eligibility
  • Visual Progress Tracking: Students and instructors can see stripe progress at a glance
  • Audit Trail: Track who awarded each stripe and when

2. Prerequisites

Before configuring the stripe/theme system, ensure you have:

  • ✓OWNER or SENSEI role (required to configure stripe types and requirements)
  • ✓Belt system configured (see Belt System Configuration Guide)
  • ✓Understanding of your curriculum: Know what skills/techniques you want to track with stripes
  • ✓Classes created: For automatic stripe awarding (see Class Scheduling Guide)

3. Understanding Stripes vs Belt Ranks

It's important to understand the distinction between stripes and belt ranks:

🥋 Belt Ranks

  • • Major progression milestones
  • • Awarded through formal grading events
  • • Represent overall skill level
  • • Examples: White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Brown, Black
  • • Typically take months to achieve

🎯 Stripes/Themes

  • • Micro-progression within a belt rank
  • • Awarded during regular classes or assessments
  • • Represent specific skills or curriculum themes
  • • Examples: "Kata 1", "Sparring Basics", "Self-Defense"
  • • Typically earned over weeks
💡

Analogy

Think of belt ranks as grade levels in school (1st grade, 2nd grade, etc.) and stripes as individual subjects or units within that grade (Math, Science, Reading). Students must complete all required "subjects" (stripes) before advancing to the next "grade level" (belt rank).

4. Stripe Award Models

DojoMaster supports two stripe award models, configured at the class level. Choose the model that best fits your teaching philosophy and class structure.

⚡

AUTOMATIC_CLASS_BASED

Stripes are automatically awarded when students attend class and are marked PRESENT.

How It Works:

  1. 1. Instructor marks student as PRESENT for a class
  2. 2. System checks if student has already earned all required stripes for their current belt
  3. 3. If not, the next stripe in the progression is automatically awarded
  4. 4. Student sees the new stripe immediately in their profile

Best For:

  • • Beginner and intermediate classes
  • • Structured curriculum with linear progression
  • • Classes where attendance equals skill development
  • • Encouraging regular attendance
  • • Minimizing instructor administrative work

Advantages:

  • • ✓ No manual stripe awarding required
  • • ✓ Consistent progression for all students
  • • ✓ Immediate positive reinforcement
  • • ✓ Reduces instructor workload

Considerations:

  • • ⚠ Less flexibility for individual assessment
  • • ⚠ Assumes attendance correlates with skill mastery
  • • ⚠ May not suit advanced or specialized classes
🏆

MANUAL_ASSESSMENT_BASED

Instructors manually award stripes based on skill demonstration and individual assessment.

How It Works:

  1. 1. Student demonstrates proficiency in a specific skill/technique
  2. 2. Instructor evaluates the performance
  3. 3. If satisfactory, instructor manually awards the corresponding stripe
  4. 4. Instructor can add notes about the assessment

Best For:

  • • Advanced and competition classes
  • • Skills requiring individual assessment
  • • Non-linear curriculum progression
  • • Classes with varying skill levels
  • • Specialized techniques or kata

Advantages:

  • • ✓ Individual evaluation for each student
  • • ✓ Flexible progression based on ability
  • • ✓ Ensures skill mastery before awarding
  • • ✓ Instructor maintains full control

Considerations:

  • • ⚠ Requires active instructor involvement
  • • ⚠ More administrative work
  • • ⚠ Potential for inconsistency between instructors

Choosing the Right Model

You can use different models for different classes. For example, use AUTOMATIC_CLASS_BASED for your beginner white belt class and MANUAL_ASSESSMENT_BASED for your advanced black belt class. The model is configured when creating or editing a class.

5. Creating Stripe Types

Stripe types represent the skills, techniques, or curriculum themes that students can earn. Create stripe types that align with your club's curriculum.

How to Create a Stripe Type

  1. 1.Navigate to Settings → Stripe Types
  2. 2.Click "Add Stripe Type" or "Create New"
  3. 3.Enter the stripe type details:

Name (Required)

The name of the skill or curriculum theme (e.g., "Kata 1", "Sparring Basics", "Self-Defense Techniques").

Validation: 2-100 characters

Color (Required)

A hex color code for visual identification (e.g., #3B82F6 for blue, #EF4444 for red).

Default: #3B82F6 (blue)

Description (Optional)

A detailed description of what this stripe represents and what students must demonstrate to earn it.

Validation: Up to 500 characters

  1. 4.Click "Save" or "Create Stripe Type"
💡

Naming Best Practices

Use clear, descriptive names that students and parents will understand. Examples: "Basic Blocks", "Kata Heian Shodan", "Sparring Combinations", "Self-Defense Module 1". Avoid generic names like "Stripe 1", "Stripe 2" unless your curriculum is numbered.

Example Stripe Types

Kata Heian Shodan

First kata in the Heian series

Sparring Basics

Fundamental sparring techniques and etiquette

Self-Defense Module 1

Basic self-defense techniques against common attacks

6. Defining Stripe Requirements for Belt Ranks

After creating stripe types, you must configure which stripes are required for each belt rank. This determines what students must complete before they're eligible for grading.

How to Add Stripe Requirements to a Belt Rank

  1. 1.Navigate to Settings → Belt Systems
  2. 2.Select the belt system you want to configure
  3. 3.Click on the specific belt rank (e.g., "White Belt", "Yellow Belt")
  4. 4.Find the "Stripe Requirements" section
  5. 5.Click "Add Requirement"
  6. 6.Select the stripe type from the dropdown
  7. 7.Choose whether it's Required or Optional
  8. 8.Set the Sort Order (determines display order)
  9. 9.Click "Save"

Required vs Optional Stripes

Required Stripes:

Students MUST earn all required stripes before they're eligible for grading to the next belt. The system enforces this requirement.

Optional Stripes:

Students can earn these stripes for additional recognition, but they're not required for grading eligibility. Useful for bonus skills or advanced techniques.

Example Configuration

White Belt → Yellow Belt Requirements

  • ✓Required: Basic Blocks (Sort Order: 1)
  • ✓Required: Basic Strikes (Sort Order: 2)
  • ✓Required: Kata Heian Shodan (Sort Order: 3)
  • ○Optional: Sparring Basics (Sort Order: 4)

7. Manual Stripe Awarding

For classes using the MANUAL_ASSESSMENT_BASED model, instructors award stripes based on skill demonstration.

How to Manually Award a Stripe

  1. 1.Navigate to the student's profile or student detail page
  2. 2.Find the "Stripe Progress" or "Belt Progress" section
  3. 3.Click "Award Stripe" or the + icon next to available stripes
  4. 4.Select the stripe type from the dropdown (only shows stripes not yet earned)
  5. 5.Optionally add notes about the assessment (max 500 characters)
  6. 6.Click "Award Stripe" to confirm

What Happens When You Award a Stripe

  • • The stripe is immediately added to the student's profile
  • • The stripe is associated with the student's current belt rank
  • • Your user ID is recorded as the instructor who awarded it
  • • The award timestamp is recorded
  • • The student's grading readiness is automatically recalculated
  • • The stripe appears in the student's progress tracking
💡

Adding Notes

Use the notes field to record specific details about the assessment: "Demonstrated excellent form on all blocks", "Needs improvement on timing but passed", "Exceptional performance". These notes help track student development and provide context for future instructors.

Validation and Duplicate Prevention

The system prevents awarding duplicate stripes:

  • •Only stripes not yet earned for the current belt are shown in the dropdown
  • •If a student has already earned all required stripes, you'll see a message indicating they're ready for grading
  • •Stripes are belt-specific, so when a student advances to a new belt, they start fresh with new stripe requirements

8. Automatic Stripe Awarding

For classes using the AUTOMATIC_CLASS_BASED model, stripes are automatically awarded when students attend class.

How Automatic Awarding Works

  1. 1.Instructor marks student as PRESENT for a class (see Attendance Tracking Guide)
  2. 2.System checks if the class uses AUTOMATIC_CLASS_BASED stripe award model
  3. 3.System retrieves the student's current belt rank
  4. 4.System checks which required stripes the student has already earned
  5. 5.If there are remaining required stripes, the next one in sort order is automatically awarded
  6. 6.The stripe is associated with the class instance and attendance record

Important Notes

  • • Only PRESENT status triggers automatic awards: LATE, ABSENT, and EXCUSED do NOT award stripes
  • • One stripe per attendance: Only one stripe is awarded per class attendance, even if multiple are required
  • • Sequential progression: Stripes are awarded in sort order (1, 2, 3, etc.)
  • • No duplicates: If a student already earned a stripe for that specific class session, no additional stripe is awarded
  • • Belt-specific: When a student advances to a new belt, the automatic awarding starts fresh with the new belt's requirements

Example Progression

Class 1 - Student attends (PRESENT)

→ Automatically awarded "Basic Blocks" (Sort Order: 1)

Class 2 - Student attends (PRESENT)

→ Automatically awarded "Basic Strikes" (Sort Order: 2)

Class 3 - Student arrives late (LATE)

→ No stripe awarded (only PRESENT triggers automatic awards)

Class 4 - Student attends (PRESENT)

→ Automatically awarded "Kata Heian Shodan" (Sort Order: 3)

Class 5 - Student attends (PRESENT)

→ All required stripes earned! Student is now eligible for grading to Yellow Belt

9. Viewing Student Stripe Progress

Track student stripe progress to monitor curriculum completion and grading readiness.

Where to View Stripe Progress

Student Detail Page

Navigate to Students → [Student Name] to see the "Belt Progress" or "Stripe Progress" section. This shows:

  • • Current belt rank
  • • All required stripes for the current belt
  • • Which stripes have been earned (with dates and instructors)
  • • Which stripes are still needed
  • • Overall grading readiness percentage

Student Progress Tracking

Navigate to Students → Progress to see a dashboard view of all students' stripe progress. Useful for identifying students who need additional support or are ready for grading.

Grading Event Eligibility

When creating a grading event, the system automatically shows which students have completed all required stripes and are eligible to participate.

Understanding Grading Readiness

The grading readiness percentage is calculated as:

Grading Readiness = (Earned Required Stripes / Total Required Stripes) × 100%

Example: If a belt requires 4 stripes and the student has earned 3, their grading readiness is 75%.

Note: Optional stripes do NOT count toward grading readiness. Only required stripes affect eligibility.

10. How Stripes Affect Grading

Stripe completion is one of several requirements for grading eligibility. Understanding how stripes integrate with the grading system is essential for effective curriculum management.

Grading Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for a grading event, students typically must meet ALL of these requirements:

  • 1.Minimum Training Days: Attended a minimum number of classes (configured per grading event)
  • 2.Required Stripes: Earned all required stripes for their current belt rank
  • 3.Required Skills: Demonstrated proficiency in required skills (if configured)
  • 4.Age Requirements: Meets minimum age for the target belt (if configured)
⚠️

Important

The system automatically enforces stripe requirements. If a student hasn't earned all required stripes, they will NOT appear in the eligible students list when creating a grading event, even if they meet all other requirements.

What Happens After Grading

When a student successfully passes a grading event and advances to a new belt:

  1. 1.Their current belt rank is updated to the new belt
  2. 2.Their stripe progress resets (previous stripes remain in history but don't count toward new belt)
  3. 3.They start earning stripes for the new belt's requirements
  4. 4.Their grading readiness percentage resets to 0% (for the new belt)
💡

Historical Tracking

All previously earned stripes remain in the database with their associated belt rank. This provides a complete historical record of the student's curriculum progression through each belt level.

For more information on grading events, see the Grading Event Setup and Execution Guide.

11. Common Pitfalls and Troubleshooting

❌ Problem: Stripe not automatically awarded when marking attendance

Possible Causes:

  • • Class uses MANUAL_ASSESSMENT_BASED model (not automatic)
  • • Student was marked LATE, ABSENT, or EXCUSED (only PRESENT triggers automatic awards)
  • • Student has already earned all required stripes for their current belt
  • • No stripe requirements configured for the student's current belt rank
  • • Student already received a stripe for this specific class session

✓ Solution: Verify the class's stripe award model in class settings. Check that stripe requirements are configured for the belt rank. Ensure student was marked PRESENT (not LATE). Review student's stripe progress to see if all stripes are already earned.

❌ Problem: Can't manually award a stripe to a student

Possible Causes:

  • • You don't have OWNER or SENSEI role
  • • Student doesn't have a current belt assigned
  • • Student has already earned all required stripes for their belt
  • • No stripe requirements configured for the student's belt rank
  • • The specific stripe has already been awarded to this student for this belt

✓ Solution: Check your role permissions. Verify student has a current belt assigned. Review stripe requirements configuration for the belt rank. Check if student has already earned the stripe you're trying to award.

❌ Problem: Student shows 100% grading readiness but still not eligible for grading

Possible Causes:

  • • Student hasn't met minimum training days requirement
  • • Student hasn't demonstrated required skills
  • • Student doesn't meet minimum age requirement for target belt
  • • Grading event hasn't been created yet

✓ Solution: Stripe completion is only ONE requirement for grading. Check attendance records for minimum training days. Verify required skills are marked as demonstrated. Check age requirements. Remember that 100% stripe readiness doesn't guarantee grading eligibility—all requirements must be met.

❌ Problem: Stripe types not appearing when adding requirements to belt rank

Possible Causes:

  • • No stripe types have been created yet
  • • All available stripe types are already added as requirements
  • • Stripe types are inactive (soft-deleted)

✓ Solution: Create stripe types first in Settings → Stripe Types. Check if stripe types are already added to the belt rank. Verify stripe types are active (not deleted).

❌ Problem: Wrong stripe awarded automatically

Possible Causes:

  • • Sort order is incorrect in belt stripe requirements
  • • Multiple stripe requirements have the same sort order
  • • Stripe requirements were recently modified

✓ Solution: Review the sort order in Settings → Belt Systems → [Belt Rank] → Stripe Requirements. Ensure each requirement has a unique, sequential sort order (1, 2, 3, etc.). The system awards stripes in ascending sort order.

❌ Problem: Student's stripe progress disappeared after belt promotion

This is expected behavior:

  • • Stripes are belt-specific
  • • When a student advances to a new belt, they start fresh with new stripe requirements
  • • Previous stripes remain in the database for historical tracking

✓ Solution: This is normal. The student's previous stripes are still recorded in the system (associated with their previous belt rank) but don't count toward their new belt's requirements. They must earn new stripes for the new belt rank.

12. Related Features

The stripe/theme system works together with other DojoMaster features:

🥋

Belt System Configuration

Configure belt ranks and their stripe requirements

📅

Class Scheduling

Configure stripe award models for classes

✅

Attendance Tracking

Understand how attendance triggers automatic stripe awards

🏆

Grading Events

Learn how stripe completion affects grading eligibility

📈

Student Progress Tracking

Monitor stripe progress across all students

👥

Student Enrollment

Assign initial belt ranks to students

13. Next Steps

Now that you understand the stripe/theme system:

  1. 1.Create stripe types: Define the skills and curriculum themes for your club
  2. 2.Configure belt requirements: Add stripe requirements to each belt rank
  3. 3.Set class stripe award models: Choose automatic or manual for each class
  4. 4.Start awarding stripes: Use automatic awarding through attendance or manual assessment
  5. 5.Monitor student progress: Track stripe completion and grading readiness
  6. 6.Integrate with grading: Use stripe requirements to determine grading eligibility
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