Re: Shodan - onwards and upwards
Congratulations Dean!
I tell my students, when you are Kyu level, you are learning the basic techniques of the art ( and some other stuff). When you make black belt, that is a declaration from the group that you have learned the basic techniques and that you can perform them competently and can possibly teach them to beginners. Now as a black belt, you can begin to practice and study Aikido. To me a black belt is a person who has passed one phase of training to a different phase of training. That's the way I look at it.
Incidentally, to me, the training is both physical and spiritual and doesn't have much to do with fighting but rather it's a training that helps me have a certain kind of mastery over myself.
Best wishes,
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