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8/26/04
Ran through the test once before the class started, and once during the first part of class with Rick. My wife came up to watch the test, which was fun. It was the most people that I have seen on the mat during a morning class in a long time!! Toward the end of class, Sensei called us all into a line, and then announced my test.
There was less nervous energy on my part than there had been on my 5th Kyu exam. Time during the test was weird. For some reason I fixated on Tenchi Nage, and kept waiting for that to be called. I did make a mistake, the previous technique had been Shoman Uchi Nikkyo, and in the pin I had slightly messed up the hand positioning. (I had not grabbed my Gi with the top hand). I was knocked out of being in the moment for a while, and when sensei called for Shoman Uchi Nikkyo, and I did a Shoman Uchi Ikkyo, this was actually opposite what I was worried about happening. I finished the move, and Rick jumped up and we did the right move. When Sensei called Katate Dori Shiho Nage, I had to think about what this was, as it was on the last test, and we had been working on Yokaman Uchi Shiho Nage, Rick and I had not worked on Katate Dori Shiho Nage all that much, on the last test I had worked on it a lot, and done it for the 108 practice. After Rick looked at me a little and made the little sign that we have for change your homi, it clicked and off we went. The test was about 15 minutes, not really very long, but in the middle it seemed to be going in slow motion.
Passing and becoming a Blueberry Marshmallow was great, the applause of my partners in the Dojo was excellent. One of the neatest things about testing is feeling the tension that not only you generate, but the tension that flows through the whole room. There is an entire community of people that want you to pass, are hoping and praying that everything goes absolutely smoothly. It creates an intense feeling in the Dojo that is normally absent. Then when Sensei announce that you have passed, the whole Dojo shifts energy in an instant! There is the absorbing calm which returns to the Dojo, mixed with relief and genuine congratulatory feelings. The change in energy is fun to see, and feel
08-27-2004 10:46 AM 