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Old 04-29-2009, 09:02 PM   #15
JO
Dojo: Aikikai de l'Université Laval
Location: Sainte-Catherine-de-la-J.-C., Québec
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 292
Canada
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Re: My shodan exam on YouTube

Hello Phil,
Your story intrigues me. I have never heard of the black belt used as anything other than a marker of yudansha status. Was this a special treatment for you, or was it also done for others.
I'm not sure what you mean about me being able to wear my belt as I tested for shodan and nidan. I was wearing my white belt for my test (the black belt arrived a little while later in my order from Tozando with my hakama) and I have not yet tested for nidan. As for my uke, he was already wearing a black belt and hakama (as a shodan) when I first stepped into an aikido dojo (he was the guy that met me at the door and told me where to sit to watch the class). I'm not even sure what rank he had at the time of my test.

Jonathan Olson
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