I picked my friend up... he over slept and we had to get him
some breakfast along the way. We got to the venue as everyone else was rolling
in. The sky was over cast, but not enough for rain. It was the perfect
conditions for the venue which had very little ventilation and the propensity
to overheat on a sunny day. My dad also arrived and proceeded to set up the
camera equipment. We registered and then proceeded to take the group photos. A whopping
79 students were registered to grade, 25 more than the previous year, but
somehow the energy was lower than last year. David’s absence was sorely felt.
We got off to a rocky start with the ninth kyu. Lots of
people seemed confused with left and right and backwards and forwards and often
students’ ended up blank staring each other, but soon every one found their
feet as the Senseis kept on barking out orders. Eight kyu came and gone with
little incident and it was almost funny to see everyone else scrambling for
mats with seventh kyu. We were ordered to do crazy monkey, a way to block
multiple flurries of attacks. I didn’t want to be responsible for someone else
bleeding and tried to remain transparent with open hand strikes to my partners
head. My thoughtfulness was rewarded with a straight jab to the lip...
We had a quick break and I sweetened my wound with an energy
bar and some water. My dad was snapping away in the background and the action
shots were rolling in. We toed the line for six kyu. By then my shirt was
drenched and I thanked my father for telling me I smelled like sweat. I dotted
my Is and crossed my Ts and flew through the level without incident. The
shortened breaks were taking its toll on my water retention so I grabbed a few
more sips before fifth kyu.
We were ordered to swop partners. I partnered up with a
shorter opponent with a single edge knife. I fought the urge to throw caution
to the wind and inflict a bit of damage on my opponent. I focused and demonstrated
my form and technique. My opponent seemed to have a sharpened edge on his
plastic knife and persisted to cut over the bare skin on the back of my neck.
It hurt a little and I knew it will leave a mark, but I remained focused and
didn’t change my style or resolve not to injure. I did however finish all my
moves and took him to ground a couple of times in spectacular fashion followed
with proper finishes.
Justice, however, was on the way for the little knife wielding
assailant as we were ordered to do multiples. One would hold a knife while two
others also attacked the fourth person in the group. We partnered up with
another student in my dojo and his partner. Soon my fellow student was the
defender and my edgy partner the one with the knife... what happened next I
could not have written better if I dreamt it up. As my class mate moved in to
retain the knife, but my overzealous partner would not let go of his prised
knife... One would have expected a wrestling match, but my classmate gave him a
perfectly timed bridge kick to the mid section as he bent over to protect his
toy knife from being snatched away from him. The sound of the kick connecting
with its intended target at the correct range resonated through the hall and
the rest of the attacking gang, including me watched in horror as my classmate
took the weapon from his shaking hands... Even I lost my appetite to fight on.
We moved on to fourth kyu. I partnered up with a female
ninja. She seemed a bit on edge too, like she saw what happened to my previous
partner, but I tried to act reassuring and we quickly got into the swing of
things with the Jo. It went almost too fast as the Sensei ordered us to get the
Tonfa. Again things went quickly, but near the end she stumbled a bit with the Tonfa.
The move ended in a takedown and my two Senseis were seated in plain view of
us. They were clearly enjoying the show as she time after time slammed me into
the concrete floor. She saw them knee slapping and laughing from ear to ear,
the poor woman thought they were laughing at her technique and not at the fact
that I was getting hammered against the floor. Shame, I tried to tell her, but
as I spoke, I was already on the ground again... Mercifully that was the last
of fourth kyu. I told her to relax, she did very well, but she was clearly
upset by the watching entourage that formed on the seats next to us. I gave
them a scolding look but that only seemed to edge on their laughing fits.
We broke up for lunch and I was relieved that it was all
over. I was wrong about the vibe being subdued, this was definitely the best
grading yet with NinjaSA. We went to a little cafe near the dojo and just tried
to relax. I couldn’t really eat much, my intestines were still untying themselves,
but I did enjoy the orange juice. We went back to watch the last bit of the
grading and to support our Dojos black-belt candidates through the last bit of torture.
They did us proud and as we left the hall for their final showdown with the
other black-belts, I felt a bit of calmness come over me. What a great way to
end the year off. I jousted a bit with the son of one of the black-bets, while
the others lazed around the car park waiting for the awards ceremony.
Finally they came out looking a bit rattled, but without any
visible injuries. All went well and we were blessed with an exceptionally successful
grading. The award ceremony was very inspiring with Bloemfontein being the
runner up for the best dojo. Randpark Ridge towered above the rest of the Dojos
with a seemingly unbeatable score. I have received the layout of the point
structure for the next news letter, so we can all strategise to topple Shidoshi
Nathan’s two year reign, but is seems Bloemfontein is poised to take the title
next year, they sure have the numbers...
Thank you to all of you for a truly amazing grading. I for
one had a roaring good time and will be back next year with the same resolve
and commitment. Join me and let’s make it another memorable year for NinjaSA.
Embrace the shadows.
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