hi everyone

[claireg31]

my name is Claire and i'm 31 years old and this Sunday i will be doing my testing to become (hopefully!!) a cho dan bo, i've been a practitioner of Tang Soio Do with the EMTF for 3 years now and i love it!
i've competed in both European and British competitions, i live in the North East of Scotland and i love doing martial arts.
looking forward to getting to know you all and sharing experiences and tips:)
claire

[14 Kempo]

Hello Claire and welcome to MartialTalk ... enjoy!

[Kacey]

Welcome, and happy posting! :wavey:

And do let us know how your testing goes!

[IcemanSK]

Welcome to MT, Claire. Go get em at your test!

[Drac]

Greetings and Welcome to MT..Best of luck on your upcoming test..Make sure you tell us how it went...

[claireg31]

thanks everyone,
have training tonight, hopefully will get to iron out any wee problems!!
will be sure to log on sunday and let you know how it went
claire

[Insley Stiles]

Welcome Claire,

Part of my heritage is Scottish and I look forward to visiting some day.

Stay focused on your test, I'm sure you'll do well. I'm somewhat unfamiliar with CMA ranking systems. Is a cho dan bo equivalent to a black belt in JMA?

Well, happy posting.

Regards,
Ins

[Sukerkin]

Hi Claire

Welcome through the doors of MT, I think you'll like it here (much less trouble, strife and general troll-dom than you'll find almost everywhere else).

Best of British to you on your testing. Don't let the nerves get you - the best advice I every received with regards to testing in the martial arts was "Treat it like it's training; it's not about pass or fail, it's about persistence and commitment".

[kidswarrior]

Hi Claire

Welcome through the doors of MT, I think you'll like it here (much less trouble, strife and general troll-dom than you'll find almost everywhere else).

Best of British to you on your testing. Don't let the nerves get you - the best advice I every received with regards to testing in the martial arts was "Treat it like it's training; it's not about pass or fail, it's about persistence and commitment".

Welcome, Claire. As you can see already, you'll never go wrong listening to Sukerkin. Lots of good people here.

[claireg31]

thank you all for your kind replies,
cho dan bo is black belt candidate, means i have about 6 - 9 months further training until i can grade for my black belt,
and thank you surekin, i will treat it like training!!
i have a recurring hip injury that prevents me from being as flexible as i would like to be but i will do my very best!
claire

[kidswarrior]

thank you all for your kind replies,
cho dan bo is black belt candidate, means i have about 6 - 9 months further training until i can grade for my black belt,
and thank you surekin, i will treat it like training!!
i have a recurring hip injury that prevents me from being as flexible as i would like to be but i will do my very best!
claire
And our best is all we can do, so it's always enough. :)

[Hawke]

Greetings Claire,

Welcome to MT. Glad you found an art you like and have perserved for the last three years. Nice to have you abroard.

Cheers.

[terryl965]

Welcome and happy posting and enjoy yourself.

[ArmorOfGod]

Hello & welcome.

AoG

[Ping898]

Welcome to MT :wavey:

[seasoned]

Welcome to MT Claire, hope you enjoy.

[Steel Tiger]

Greetings and welcome to MT.

[bydand]

Welcome to Martial Talk! Wander around the posts a bit, there is a TON of great information and great people here, enjoy!

[bluemtn]

Welcome and happy posting, Claire! Please keep us informed on your test, and best wishes!

[claireg31]

just a quick little message, went through everyone of my forms in preparation for Sundays testing, Master Hatch is very happy and has every faith in me for passing, just can't wait to get it over with now, i just get so nervous!!
claire

[Sukerkin]

It's okay to be nervous, Clair. Everyone suffers from it just prior to any form of testing.

The trick is to recall that you have trained in what you need for your test to the point that it is a spinal reflex activity. What this means is that you don't need to think about what you're doing.

So it doesn't matter if your mind is chattering like a box of agitated monkeys, it just has to start the ball rolling, get out of the way and let your body get on with what it knows how to do.

If you're finding that your nerves are really intefering, then a trick that I used to use, prior to kata testing, is a form of self-distracting visualisation. I would build in my head the mental image of a picturesque vista with a lake in the foreground, forested shores and lofty mountains rising behind, their heads shrouded in cloud. That used to calm me right down.

[BudoTiger]

Welcome to MT Claire. Hope everything goes well for you. And i share your pain in the hi thing. i have a back injury and bad hip flexors from a weight prob growing up. so my flexibility isnt so hot either.

[Tswolfman]

Welcome and good luck on your test

[claireg31]

hi everyone
just to let you all know i grded yesterday and i got my blue belt, that is me now a cho dan bo black belt candidate and so so happy with myself, aching all over today but it was worth it!
claire