Before the Grading
I should have guessed the next grading test would be
different on many levels from the ones I had done previously, before and during
Covid, however when I was asked whether I remembered all my Kihon and had
practiced them, my answer was a simple "yes." This was followed by an
invitation to attend the next grading. I would be trying for my Blue belt.
In the days prior to the grading, I acted as (my son) Brendan's
uke for an element that hadn’t been present in previous gradings that I had
seen for the higher belts. The routines to escape from a double choke hold
weren’t included in my grading, so I wasn’t really aware how anything was going
to differ. The last grading I had done we had no paired elements in that, only
basic pad work to demonstrate competence in our Kihon Gata.
The Test Begins
Come grading day I thought it would be tough due to my lack
of stamina from COPD and the absence of seriously strenuous exercise prior to
returning to the dojo several months earlier. I was told this would be taken
into account during the grading, as my examiners were fully aware of my issues.
I'm nothing if not bloody-minded though, and at the start of
group Kihon I did my best to fully keep up, only dropping the power but
matching the other students’ repetitions.
It took two or three techniques and I was almost gone,
anything fast was nearly beyond me. Fortunately, the chief examiner told me to
go a bit slower rather than trying to keep up. That way, I just made it through
Kihon and Kihon Gata, though I was well aware that much of it was probably more
ragged than that of other students.
Kata and Recovery
Fortunately, there was a break at that point as the more
advanced students went through their additional Kihon Gata. I only had to
demonstrate 1 to 4, while some of the other students going for purple belt had
to demonstrate all 10.
By the time I got to the point of having to demonstrate my Kata
(Naihanchi Shodan), I was determined to get it right. Unfortunately, I didn’t
fully relax into it and there was some stiffness but I did manage to get to the
end without any major mishaps. That was it — I was done, for better or worse.
Or so I thought.
The Circuit Challenge
The higher grade students went through their choke hold,
ground work, and other routines that took up a good while. I thought we were
done. Silly me. I should have remembered the last face-to-face grading I did
before Covid, where they had started to introduce pad work. To my dismay,
rather than ending there, out came the various pad sets for circuit work.
There were to be three circuits to be done, from one end of
the hall and back, performing the various Kihon Gata combinations on the pads
to the call of the pad holders. This was going to test me to the full — and so
it did.
I managed to do the first part of one circuit, which was
mostly punching techniques, and started on the back sequence. By halfway down
the return leg, I was struggling for breath, and I didn’t quite make it to the
end. I stumbled off the mat and ended up in a heap on the floor, with someone
kindly bringing my inhaler to help me recover. I was unable to participate in
the other two circuits, as they were done before I got my breath back.
The Sparring Surprise
At that point, I felt that I had blown my chance of grading,
which was deeply disappointing even though I had tried to the best of my
ability.
Then came the last part of the grading — sparring. I had
never seen this feature before, and it fully convinced me that I had no chance
of passing. There were three rounds of sparring to take place, one minute each,
and the first two rounds took place with me simply being an onlooker.
Then came the last twist in the tale. I was told to get my
sparring kit on and that if I wanted to grade, I had to complete one minute of
light sparring. It was against one of the younger students going for purple
belt, who I knew had excellent technique, so I didn’t hold out much hope of
doing anything meaningful.
However, having been thrown a lifeline, even if it was a
challenge, there was no way I was going to miss out on the chance.
One Minute That Mattered
The next one minute was a blur, but one thing that did stick
in my mind was that I was actually happy with — was that in response to a
mawashi-geri jodan, I ducked my head, raised my shoulder, and took the kick.
One of our black belts might remember why I was happy with that?
I remember my Sensei telling me “20 seconds to go,” “10,”
then it was over. Again, I was on the floor needing my inhaler, but at least
this time it was with the definite knowledge that I had completely given it my
best shot.
The Result
I was still semi-resigned to having probably missed out, but
there was this little seed of hope.
Then to the awards. All seated on the mat, awaiting our
names to be called one by one.. and WOW, I had passed!! Admittedly it was only
a C grade, which meant I had just scraped it from any point of view, but I had
made it!!
To say I was happy
was an understatement. If you want it enough, sometimes it is possible to earn
it even when you think you don’t have much of a chance. Don’t give up — even if
it doesn’t work the first time, stick at it and you might just get there!
Thanks for reading.
REY 30/10/2025
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