Tonight was a very fulfilling workout. It started out with a quickly paced fast-burn Sensei Brewer workout that was pretty tough for me since I am still feeling the effects of connection in my upper body. It consisted of many basics and several combinations that harkened to dan testing without explicitly being the dan test combinations.
In between classes, Sensei Hartman pulled us off into the middle of the room and told us to do the Nidan sparring stuff. I have decided to commit myself to body shifting, since it’s my only hope of coming out of things unscathed. Tonight it was working pretty well, several times I evaded without having to block and when you’re sparring with
The second class started with copious amounts of kata, we went through all Heian, Tekki, and Nidan required kata. I’ve decided to try to picture the entire testing panel at their most scary point every time I get into ready position for kata. This way that won’t rattle me when the time comes, because inside my brain I will have seen Sensei Hassell, Sensei Yabe, and Senseis Brewer and Hartman staring at me from across the big table a thousand times.
Kata went pretty well, I was pouring on all the steam I had left by the time we made it to the black belt kata and it felt good. Sensei then decided to have us do some sparring drills, and I had a feeling things were only going to escalate from the intermediate sparring session we had earlier.
I am pleased to report that I did not receive any face damage during tonight’s workout. In fact, for some reason I was pretty keyed up and actually was able to get a few good techniques in. I don’t know if it’s the connection that we found on Saturday or what, but my hands have proven to be much more effective lately, as well as my body shifting. I felt somewhat capable tonight, which is something that is usually far between and fleeting when you’re preparing for something like a black belt exam.
After class, Sensei Brewer said that he wanted to talk to the three of us that were eligable for the test. He told us when the exam was and told us that we were all eligible, which we knew. He then asked us if we wanted to take it, there were some slow replies of “Osu!”. I said that I would take it to the best of my ability, which is all that I can give. I’ve already put my feet on the path of training my mind and body the way it needs to be, I just have to follow through now. Sensei Brewer also said that the worst thing that can happen is that we fail. I’ve been there, done that. I don’t need to be afraid of it anymore.
I mused a little bit about the last black belt test I took in 1997, which is the one I passed. They were in between dojos in Saint Louis, so the belt exam was held at the local Elk’s Club in the middle of January. The place had no heat. I remember that we stood on the welcome mats because they were the farthest thing away from the frozen tile floor, and my feet were raw by the time my exam was finished. Since the test is in April this time, hopefully we will not have a repeat of those conditions. It’s going to be a good time, that’s for sure.
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