Tested under protest

[girlbug2]

I was so angry with Master D. I had declined the last scheduled belt test in March because I believed that I was not ready yet; then took a month off due to shoulder stress. When I came back two weeks ago, his assistant instructor informed me that I would be demoted if I didn't show up to the makeup test in two weeks...!!!! So I stressed and stewed about it until testing day. But in the end, what decided me was that there was another student testing for the same belt level who would test alone if I didn't show. I wouldn't want that to be my fate, so I told myself I was showing up for his sake and prayed that I wouldn't embarass myself too much.

Well hobgobbs...I passed! Now I am a Green Belt. And I only embarassed myself a little bit.:p

Is it possible that my instructor knows my skills better than I do?

So tell us your accidental testing stories.

[masherdong]

You are always your hardest critic. Yes, your instructor knows your skill level or he wouldnt have you testing in the first place. So, enjoy your new rank.

CONGRATS!

[Bruno@MT]

Tanemura sensei sometimes says: you and you; checktest. Now. :)
I am of the opinion that 'sensei knows best'. If sensei says you test, then you test. Sure, you may have nerves, or think that you are not ready, but your sensei is the person with umpteen times more experience and knowledge than you. Who are you to say that he is wrong? If sensei says jump, you don't even ask how high. You jump and if it was not high enough, he'll tell you to jump higher.

For my last belt test with my previous sensei, I showed up at class and noticed a number of black belt sensei from sister dojos (dojo run by other former students of my sensei's sensei). I thought this was odd, but sometimes one or 2 of them came over to practice so it was not inconceivable. I thought nothing more of it until the beginning of class. After bowing in, the sensei said 'ok the rest of you start warming up and sensei X will take you through the rest of the class. Bruno, you test for 3d kyu' After that I had the 2 most intense hours (in terms of someone trying to break me) I've ever had.

Honestly, it was the right call for him to make. At that point in my life I trained my entire curriculum on a daily basis. There was no doubt that I would ace the technical part of the exam. That wouldn't have been much of a test for me. By springing the exam on me and testing me for 2 full hours, he was giving me a real test: would I be able to deal with the stress, and would he be able to break me. And I can proudly say I handled the stress well and he was unable to make me collapse (although at the end I was near that point and I hung on just out of stubbornness).

[Blade96]

Congrats on passing! :)

[zDom]

My instructor told us he didn't even know he was testing for his red belt (last belt before black) until his instructor handed him his belt at the end of the workout.

He thought he was just being asked to demonstrate all his techniques for the class ...

[bushidomartialarts]

Congratulations.

We once had to trick a guy into testing, asking him to come and serve as uke for two other students going for the same rank. He had very good skills, but some odd sense of propriety that made him think six months in rank wasn't nearly enough....

[harlan]

I was once 'invited' to test with the head of our system. Being insecure, I decided against it at the time, not realizing that it might be the last time I'd get the opportunity.

My teacher was asked to help test at a friend's dojo a few weeks ago, and I was invited to come along for the ride. We train kobudo informally, no dogi and no testing, but it was suggested that I wear a gi in case I was asked to help out. After six years, I still didn't have one, and had to run around to find one last minute. When asked if I had a belt to wear, I waved the white one that came with the gi, and my teacher said, 'No. You'll wear a brown one.' That was it.


I was so angry with Master D. I had declined the last scheduled belt test in March because I believed that I was not ready yet; then took a month off due to shoulder stress. When I came back two weeks ago, his assistant instructor informed me that I would be demoted if I didn't show up to the makeup test in two weeks...!!!! So I stressed and stewed about it until testing day. But in the end, what decided me was that there was another student testing for the same belt level who would test alone if I didn't show. I wouldn't want that to be my fate, so I told myself I was showing up for his sake and prayed that I wouldn't embarass myself too much.

Well hobgobbs...I passed! Now I am a Green Belt. And I only embarassed myself a little bit.:p

Is it possible that my instructor knows my skills better than I do?

So tell us your accidental testing stories.

[Blade96]

my senseis organize a testing at a certain time (mine and ours was feb 26 for all the kyus except brown as their shodan is separate) and they always say Come for testing - if you dare =]

it was 5 months as a white belt then and i knew i was ready to be a yellow belt.

cause my friend is always saying You AOB - Almost An Orange belt - when i've only been a yellow belt for 3 months! yes i am my own worst critic who always says she is not good enough and my sensei says its better than i think it is, and i always say my kata isnt perfect and.......So i brush aside my friend most of the time. because i always think i'm not ready.

Course maybe at the end of 5 months i might have a different thought when it does actually come time for testing. cause they do make sure we know the stuff before they organize a grading.

[Big Don]

You are always your hardest critic. Yes, your instructor knows your skill level or he wouldnt have you testing in the first place. So, enjoy your new rank.

CONGRATS!
QFT and CONGRATS!

[David43515]

Demoted for not testing? I`ve never heard of that. It makes about as much sense as those nuts who recind someone`s belt because of political reasons.What nuts.

[Aikicomp]

I was so angry with Master D. I had declined the last scheduled belt test in March because I believed that I was not ready yet; then took a month off due to shoulder stress. When I came back two weeks ago, his assistant instructor informed me that I would be demoted if I didn't show up to the makeup test in two weeks...!!!! So I stressed and stewed about it until testing day. But in the end, what decided me was that there was another student testing for the same belt level who would test alone if I didn't show. I wouldn't want that to be my fate, so I told myself I was showing up for his sake and prayed that I wouldn't embarass myself too much.

Well hobgobbs...I passed! Now I am a Green Belt. And I only embarassed myself a little bit.:p

Is it possible that my instructor knows my skills better than I do?

So tell us your accidental testing stories.

Congrats. As others have said, if you were not ready he would not have tested you.

Of course he does....that's why he is the Instructor.

I do not test my students on only what they do at testing, but, what I see during all their training up until that point.

We have a test where the whole class throws you with any throw they seem fit called "Ukemi from throws". One day there was a large beginner's class, 15 students. I happened to be the only assistant Instructor there and my teacher decided to show them a couple of judo throws. Yup, I was their uke and was thrown for an hour straight. Needless to say I was very tired from taking all those falls and constantly adjusting my falls for the bad technique of the beginners.

Then after that the advanced class started (which had ranks from blue belt to blackbelt), we did our warmup and our regular class, then he said Mike you're taking your test now, and had the 25 people in the advanced class throw me three times each.

That was my last test to pass for brown belt. I LOVE UKEMI!

Michael

[Wey]

I was so angry with Master D. I had declined the last scheduled belt test in March because I believed that I was not ready yet; then took a month off due to shoulder stress. When I came back two weeks ago, his assistant instructor informed me that I would be demoted if I didn't show up to the makeup test in two weeks...!!!! So I stressed and stewed about it until testing day. But in the end, what decided me was that there was another student testing for the same belt level who would test alone if I didn't show. I wouldn't want that to be my fate, so I told myself I was showing up for his sake and prayed that I wouldn't embarass myself too much.

Well hobgobbs...I passed! Now I am a Green Belt. And I only embarassed myself a little bit.:p

Is it possible that my instructor knows my skills better than I do?

So tell us your accidental testing stories.

Congrats! I don't have any stories that are unusual / funny. =[

"Hobgobbs"... I'm going to use that. :D

[tshadowchaser]

First congrats on passing

Now I have a couple thoughts on this:
Are you studying for rank or for knowledge? If for rank you where correct to take the test if for knowledge then maybe you should have said I’ll take the demotion.

Your instructor may have more confidence in your ability then you do and wanted to force you into the test to prove to you that you had the knowledge and ability. Thusly giving you ore confidence in yourself. OR he just may have needed the extra money if he charges for the test ( I doubt this is the case but I have seen it done in the past).

If you had declined the test your instructor may have asked you to sit down with him and explain why and he could have explained why he wanted you to take it at that time.

[Stac3y]

Congratulations!

[girlbug2]

First congrats on passing

Now I have a couple thoughts on this:
Are you studying for rank or for knowledge? If for rank you where correct to take the test if for knowledge then maybe you should have said I’ll take the demotion.

Your instructor may have more confidence in your ability then you do and wanted to force you into the test to prove to you that you had the knowledge and ability. Thusly giving you ore confidence in yourself. OR he just may have needed the extra money if he charges for the test ( I doubt this is the case but I have seen it done in the past).

If you had declined the test your instructor may have asked you to sit down with him and explain why and he could have explained why he wanted you to take it at that time.

Personally I study for knowledge and I couldn't care less about rank. However..the way class schedule is structured, I would have been locked out of certain upper level classes if I was demoted, so it was a good motivation for me to test.

I am sure my instructor was just trying to prove a point to me about my skill level. A remark he made prior to the test about another student who was out frequently due to injuries hit home--she is a friend of mine and we had always tested and partnered together, so much so that I think he saw that I was holding back to wait for my "partner" to test with me. He said "don't wait for T, just test now". I hadn't realized until after he said that, that he may be right about it.

[Flea]

Systema is a beltless art; everyone trains together. The other day everyone was joking about how it was time to introduce belts and test everyone. Of course I'm moving soon and they all know it. The instructor turned around and asked me when I was moving ... "Tuesday."

He didn't skip a beat. He turned around immediately and announced that belt testing would be on Wednesday morning.

Wiseass. :uhyeah:

[Maiden_Ante]

Silly, you need to decide for yourself whether you want to graduate or not. If you are ready, you'll pass - if not, you won't. Therefore the trainer should not make you.

[Bruno@MT]

Silly, you need to decide for yourself whether you want to graduate or not. If you are ready, you'll pass - if not, you won't. Therefore the trainer should not make you.

The trainer / sensei should know better than you if you're ready or not. And if you don't trust his judgment, why are you training with him?

[Cirdan]

Congrats on passing!

Of course your teacher knows best. If you think otherwise you should not be his student.

[ap Oweyn]

Silly, you need to decide for yourself whether you want to graduate or not. If you are ready, you'll pass - if not, you won't. Therefore the trainer should not make you.

Nah. Part of the trainer's job is to push you out of your comfort zone. If he's doing that appropriately, then he's taking into account his assessment of your ability to pass. I haven't known any teachers who required someone to test expecting that they'd fail. Usually, your teachers want to see you succeed as much as you do. But you do need to accept that 1) they may have a clearer sense of your progress than you do and 2) they're supposed to be making you uncomfortable. Comfort leads to stagnation. And nobody should be showing up to a class to stagnate.


Stuart

[Ken Morgan]

My sensei says rank is a punishment for hanging around too long....:)

Congrats BTW!!!

[Aikicomp]

Silly, you need to decide for yourself whether you want to graduate or not. If you are ready, you'll pass - if not, you won't. Therefore the trainer should not make you.

If any student told me when THEY were going to test after I told them to test....they would no longer be my student. That is rude and implies they have no confidence in my judgement or ability as an Instructor.

Michael

[Twin Fist]

if i tell one of my students to test, and they say they aint ready? they can leave.

[Shifu Steve]

I'm gonna have to jump in with the "your instructor knows best" camp. You're training with this person and trusting their judgment on all Martial Arts related issues and investing a significant amount of time with them. They are, so to speak, the expert on the subject matter you are studying. I'm not saying that instructors are never wrong, but this is more of a matter of respect, more specifically, respect for your teacher's judgment, which is a touchy subject and a slippery slope if you challenge it

[The Boar Man]

Nah. Part of the trainer's job is to push you out of your comfort zone. If he's doing that appropriately, then he's taking into account his assessment of your ability to pass. I haven't known any teachers who required someone to test expecting that they'd fail. Usually, your teachers want to see you succeed as much as you do. But you do need to accept that 1) they may have a clearer sense of your progress than you do and 2) they're supposed to be making you uncomfortable. Comfort leads to stagnation. And nobody should be showing up to a class to stagnate.


Stuart

Stuart, I have to agree with you here, my job as an instructor is to take my students out of their comfort zones even on test days. This is a fine line for on a test you don't want to throw the student so far off kilter that they totally blow it, and yet on my tests I do try ad throw the students a few curve balls to make their tests interesting.

For my class, my tests are a chance for the students to demonstrate what they have learned to their parents/friends and they aren't going to test unless they have 1) earned it and 2) I know they deserve the new rank.

In regards to having the student tell me they are not ready, I've only had one student's mother tell me their child wasn't ready and I politely informed here that yes he was ready and yes he would test. If an adult student were to tell me they weren't ready to test, I wouldn't accept that.

Mark

[Blade96]

I was so angry with Master D. I had declined the last scheduled belt test in March because I believed that I was not ready yet; then took a month off due to shoulder stress. When I came back two weeks ago, his assistant instructor informed me that I would be demoted if I didn't show up to the makeup test in two weeks...!!!! So I stressed and stewed about it until testing day. But in the end, what decided me was that there was another student testing for the same belt level who would test alone if I didn't show. I wouldn't want that to be my fate, so I told myself I was showing up for his sake and prayed that I wouldn't embarass myself too much.

Well hobgobbs...I passed! Now I am a Green Belt. And I only embarassed myself a little bit.:p

Is it possible that my instructor knows my skills better than I do?

So tell us your accidental testing stories.


Systema is a beltless art; everyone trains together. The other day everyone was joking about how it was time to introduce belts and test everyone. Of course I'm moving soon and they all know it. The instructor turned around and asked me when I was moving ... "Tuesday."

He didn't skip a beat. He turned around immediately and announced that belt testing would be on Wednesday morning.

Wiseass. :uhyeah:

lmao! :uhyeah:


The trainer / sensei should know better than you if you're ready or not. And if you don't trust his judgment, why are you training with him?

Wise Bruno is right. trust your teacher. He know you deserved it. Enjoy your new belt. :)

I remember when i was freaked out, just a little, about my balance. And i went to my sensei and expressed my concern that it might affect how i do my shotokan and then tournaments and gradings. Sensei listened when i told him about the MRI and the small cerebellum they said they found, turned to me and said: "Those so called experts....You can do shotokan. You can even make it to shodan. Tell em all to go to hell!"

I trust him completely. So I believe him - and how can i not, with my gold medal and my yellow belt as proof. and the fact he is 7th dan and has been teaching for decades. and he's known me for almost 9 months now.

I gave Sensei a big hug and thanked him for being so supportive. :)

Teachers know what you are capable of, even more than we know ourselves, at times.

[Milt G.]

Hello,
Your teacher should know best as to when testing is appropriate. While they may "consider" your input, it is their ultimate decision. A competent teacher should never test you before you are ready.

As for promotions... You should never ask for, or refuse, one. Or so the tradition goes.

Congratulations on your test!

Thank you,
Milt G.

[girlbug2]

A lot of responses--just to clarify, the original test in March was a regularly scheduled event, not required for everybody to test. The makeup test in May would have normally been optional as well, but my instructor insisted on it in my case.

It might be a good topic for another thread to discuss how students can sometimes feel unsure of themselves and their abilities. That was more the issue for me, not that I didn't trust my instructor. It was lack of trust in myself.