The flying crescent kick, fine, If you can make that work in sparring good for you. Knife hands, mid/low punches from the waist in a weird stance and complicated but useless blocks are what i was referring to mainly, although I have to say the crescent kick isnt one of my favorites. Never tried a spinning variety, but if all your teaching to get the next belt is a more and more complicated kick that doesnt work in practice whats the point? Sure jab, roundhouse kick is boring, but that doesnt make it uesless. The skill is in landing it.
Patters show you can string together moves but not the ones you use. Patterns use a completely different stance and timing which means that they dont really apply to anything else.
I know your not trying to defend my specific grading criteria, but my opinion is that belts and gradings are too abstract from the actual skill of fighting to make them a measure of progress. At best they are a harmless throwback to the tradition of the art, at worst they are a waste of time that could be better spent elsewhere. The only reason traditional martial arts schools use them is because they are traditional. If they had meaning and value other arts like boxing would use them.
Now boxing is a good example of what i means about complicated moves earlier. The basic punches of boxing are easy to learn, but impossible to perfect. The time spent perfecting the few good moves, instead of learning another badly is what makes boxing so efficient as a fighting style
That was just an example lol. What I'm trying to say is, if your grading criteria only contains simple moves, how do you separate mid belts from high belts, if both can do the moves? Its hard to judge the sense of timing or measure the degree of perfection. Say the black belt grading criteria was jab cross low kick. 95% of people in every Dojo would be a black belt. By making the moves more complicated it means that only the very advance who have a level of mastery can achieve the belt.
Tbh most times belts means you have showed a level of progression or positive attitude and experience. It does not dictate your skill ofc, and as long as nobody pretends it does, it doesn't matter. If you don't like gradings, then, just like you did, ignore them. That way, they don't hurt you. However, if you desire that black belt to be able to say you stuck with something until the highest level, then why not?
I agree to an extent, but that's a bit off topic lol I was just trying to say that gradings in themselves are not a sign of a McDojo, if that was the case, every Karate and TKD place would be a McDojo (I know a lot are anyway), but we know thats not true.