I got to class early and started warming up. With one kyu
level left for me to grade my only enemy was my own mind. I had a rough day at
work and I didn’t even get to kiss my wife goodbye before leaving for the Dojo.
I felt a little uneasy, but did my best to calm my mind and focus on the task
at hand.
We started with the key-ring and soon I was throwing my uki
around on the floor. Again I was grading by myself with the consequence that I
was doing everything twice. It was hard to remain creative with twice as many chances
to make a mistake inevitably I ended up repeating my moves.
We moved on to the knife and I tied to focus on my basics
such as creating void and getting my foot work in the right places. I ended up
moving a bit to fare away from my opponent and my movements were a bit
strained. I still need to work on flowing my moves. Luckily neither me nor my
uke got hurt in the grading and as we greeted my Sensei came to me and told me
we need to get back to basics. I couldn’t agree more.
We ended up watching the last student grade through 4th
and 3rd kyu. Right at the end disaster struck as his uki took a hit
in the head. He fell to the ground and blood trickled from his scalp. He was
clearly in shock, but he quickly recovered his composure. Needles to say the
grading was over. But a follow up call confirmed his good health.
All and all the feedback I got from the grading was
positive. We worked hard in the last three months and we all tried to make our
senseis proud. I am grateful to have found such an inspiring art and I feel honoured
and privileged to be part of such a close knit family of dedicated worriers.
Embrace the shadows.
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