Nova Dojo · The rules
How the dojo works
Short lessons, quick quizzes and a little friendly competition. Here's the whole game in about two minutes.
The path in three steps
Belt → topic → pill. You learn in pills, prove it in a checkpoint at the end of each topic, and earn the belt with an exam.
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1
Pill
2-4 minutes. One short card and 4 quick exercises.
10 XP -
2
Checkpoint
End of each topic. 10 questions, 7 right to pass.
30 XP + bonus -
3
Belt exam
End of each belt. 20 questions, 80% to pass.
100 XP + badge
Nine belts, from White (first contact) to Black (build and run your own bot). Agents only show up at Red, belt 8: the basics come first.
Step 1
Pills: one idea at a time
- A short card (under 110 words) and 4 micro-exercises: multiple choice, true or false, fill the blank, match, put in order, pick the better one, spot the error or a real agency scenario.
- Each pill brings 1-2 new terms. They land in your glossary and come back later in the daily kata.
- 10 XP, plus 5 if all four are right on the first try. Replaying a pill is fine: XP only counts once.
- Pills open in order: finish one and the next one unlocks.
Step 2
Checkpoints: prove it against the clock
- 10 random questions from the topic's bank, so no two checkpoints are the same.
- 10 seconds per question, timed on the server: a late answer counts as wrong. Long reads (matching, ordering, code or log snippets) get 20 s.
- Pass with 7/10: 30 XP plus 1 XP per second left on your right answers (up to +20).
- Didn't make it? No penalty. Have a look at the pills and try again whenever you like.
Shortcut
Already know it? Jump ahead
Any topic of an open belt lets you take its checkpoint straight away. Pass it and the topic counts as done, pills included, so you can skip what you already know.
- You get the checkpoint XP, not the XP of the pills you skipped.
- Look for Jump ahead next to the checkpoint in the syllabus or on a topic page.
Step 3
Belt exams: earn the belt
- 20 questions: 15 from this belt and 5 review questions from earlier belts. 10 s each.
- Pass with 80% (16/20) to earn 100 XP, the belt badge and the next belt.
- It opens once every checkpoint of the belt is passed.
- One try per day. Starting the exam uses today's try, even if you leave halfway (you can pick it up again the same day).
Every day
Daily kata: five minutes to keep it fresh
- 5 terms you have already learned, picked by spaced repetition: definition to term, or term to definition.
- Right answers come back later and later (1, 3, 7, 14, 30, 60 days). A miss brings the term back tomorrow.
- 5 XP and it keeps your streak alive. Thirty katas earn the Kata master badge.
Habit
Streaks: show up, a little, every day
- Any day with a pill, a quiz or a kata counts.
- Miss a day and the streak starts again from zero. Badges at 7 and 30 days.
- Days follow Canary Islands time: the new day starts at midnight in Tenerife.
Just for fun
Weekly leagues
- A ranking by the XP everyone earns from Monday 00:00 (Canary time). Every Monday it starts from scratch, and past weeks stay in the history.
- A team view adds up the XP of each team.
- It's a game, full stop. The league is never linked to pay, bonuses or performance reviews.
Points
Where XP comes from
| Activity | XP | Extra |
|---|---|---|
| Pill | 10 | +5 if all four are right on the first try |
| Topic checkpoint | 30 | +1 per second left on right answers, up to +20 |
| Belt exam | 100 | plus the belt badge |
| Daily kata | 5 | keeps the streak alive |
Practice is always free: repeating a pill, a checkpoint or an exam you already passed gives no extra XP.
Collect them all
Badges
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First steps
Complete your first pill.
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White belt
Pass the white belt exam.
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Yellow belt
Pass the yellow belt exam.
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Orange belt
Pass the orange belt exam.
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Green belt
Pass the green belt exam.
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Blue belt
Pass the blue belt exam.
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Purple belt
Pass the purple belt exam.
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Brown belt
Pass the brown belt exam.
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Red belt
Pass the red belt exam.
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Black belt
Pass the black belt exam.
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On fire
Keep a 7-day streak.
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Unstoppable
Keep a 30-day streak.
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Flawless
Ace a topic checkpoint with every answer right.
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Kata master
Finish 30 daily katas.
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Early bird
Learn something between 6 and 8 am.
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Night owl
Learn something between midnight and 6 am.
From the sensei
Tips that actually help
- Little and often. One pill a day beats a marathon on Friday afternoon.
- Read the "why". The short explanation after each answer is where things stick.
- Do the kata first. Five minutes with your coffee, before the terms pile up.
- Use the glossary. Every new word has a plain definition and the pill where it lives.
- Warm up before the exam. Retake a checkpoint or two: you only get one exam try a day.
- Golden rule. Never paste passwords, keys or client data into an AI tool. Not even "just to try".
Questions people ask
Do I lose XP or progress if I fail?
No. A failed checkpoint costs nothing: try again whenever you like. The only limit is the belt exam, one try per day.
What happens when the timer runs out?
That question counts as wrong and the quiz moves on. Timing is checked on the server, so a slow connection or an open tab doesn't buy extra seconds.
Can I redo a pill?
Yes, as often as you like. XP only counts the first time, but practice is never wasted.
Why can't I open the next belt?
A belt opens when you pass the exam of the previous one. Inside a belt, topics open in order, but you can always jump ahead by taking a topic's checkpoint.
Is the league part of my performance review?
No, never. The league is just for fun and has nothing to do with pay, bonuses or evaluations.
Why is the dojo in English?
Most AI tools, docs and vocabulary are in English, so the dojo is too. The syllabus shows each belt goal in Spanish as well.
When do agents show up?
At the Red belt (belt 8). The first seven belts build the basics: prompting, everyday work, how models work, safety, cloud vs local, Linux and Docker.
When does a new day start?
At midnight, Canary Islands time. Streaks, the daily exam try and the weekly league all follow that clock.
Who can see my progress?
Everyone in the dojo sees the weekly league and your public profile (belt, badges, streak). Dojo admins see overall stats to improve the content.
Ready for your first pill?
It takes three minutes. The kettle takes longer.