Hi all,
For the first time, I attended a Shodan test at our dojo, and I must say, it was quite impressive, and made my gokyu test look like a joke!
The test lasted for two hours (there were only two students 'running for' that bleck belt). One member of the jury took pity on the poor, sweaty, exhausted lads and decided that was enough, even though my Sensei wanted to test them for an additional hour!
How much time does a Shodan test take where you train?
Another thing. Okay, so both students 'passed'. Yet the members of the jury themselves admitted out loud the two students made a lot of mistakes during the test, and there was an obvious lack of discipline coming from one of them.
I don't know, but shouldn't you be self-disciplined, well-trained and fully prepared in order to deserve that black belt?
The one thing that was really good was that the students immediately recognized and executed all of the techniques even though they were stated out in Japanese. That was the only plus, I think. Throughout the test, the jury members kept repeating: "Show us more kime!", yet no kime was ever shown, and "Show us more variations in the free-style section", yet the students kept using the same techniques over and over again.
One of them was nervous to the extreme, while the other one was, as usual, distributing grins to the audience, and speaking with his uke (even though Sensei told him many times to keep quiet!).
So, do you think they deserved that black belt? And could you describe one interesting Shodun test you'd attended?
Thanks,
In Aiki,
Mona