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ProfessorKenpo
Guest
Man, this has gone way off topic, better get a mod in here LOL.
Dogend=cigarette butt
Have a great Kenpo day
Clyde
black belt grading in 1 hour
- Thread starter satans.barber
- Start date
Man, this has gone way off topic, better get a mod in here LOL.
Dogend=cigarette butt
Have a great Kenpo day
Clyde
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pknox
Guest
Ah.
J
jeffkyle
Guest
That is an appropriate name for it! I like that!
Shodan
Master Black Belt
Well- as to an actual number...........I don't know cuz I was so nervous.........but it seemed like a lot!! There were questions during our test about footwork, techniques, angles, all sorts of things and then again when we had to present our thesis techniques........such as.........why did you choose to do that move there? Etc, etc, etc.
Once we were thru and the panel disappered into the office for awhile, they came back out, lined us up and asked........"Raise your hand if you think you passed". We weren't sure if this was a loaded question or what, but all of us shakily raised our hands. They then told us they would be calling us into the office one at a time. When I got called in, I was instructed to sit in the designated chair and for the next 10-15 minutes or so they asked me all about what I thought I did right and what I thought I did wrong and how I thought I could improve. At the very end of all this, they said........."Well, congratulations!! You passed!!" I remember someone saying "Welcome to the beginning........or.......you have finally made it to the beginning". Now I am seeing how true that statement was!!
:asian: :karate:
Doc
Senior Master
I think you already passed.Originally posted by satans.barber
I feel really, really, really sick with nerves....this isn't going to be fun
Ian.
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CoolKempoDude
Guest
what makes a bb test SO DIFFERENT from other tests???????
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2002
- Messages
- 8,069
- Reaction score
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For starters, it is a rite of passage from being simply student to student AND peer.
OP
satans.barber
Master Black Belt
- Thread Starter
- #28
If I have already passed, and he makes me hang on a whole week to find out, that's just evil!
If you mean in a more philosophical sense, then thankyou, that means a lot to me...
:asian:
Ian.
OP
satans.barber
Master Black Belt
- Thread Starter
- #29
Well, I'm sure everyone's is different, but for me:
* it cost 7x as much as a normal test. Although money is the least important factor of the whole day, it is still in your mind that if you fail, you've essentially thrown away (well, not thrown away as it is still valuable experience) a whole lot more money than normal.
* NERVES. Although I've been nervous before, I was an absolute wreck on Sunday. I really felt incredibly sick, and when I got there I could hardly talk. I was wandering around in a daze like I was drunk or something, it didn't seem quite real. Then, I felt like I couldn't breathe properly, and there was no air in the waiting room, so I had to go outside and suck in some fresh air - this isn't a good state to be in!
* it's infront of a panel. In the past I've only ever been graded by ONE person, this time there was FIVE. A 7th Dan, a 4th Dan, a 2nd Dan, a 1st Dan and a black belt. That's a whole lot of experience scrutinising your every move.
* length. My BB test was about 4 hours 15 mins, with no break anywhere. I gather that this was actually quite short for a BB test, I was expecting about 6 hours, but still, it's well over twice the normal length of about 90 mins, and I was absolutely dead on my feet at the end of it (as I said, I had to go outside and be sick at the end, my stomach just knotted up).
* history. A black belt grading, though not the end of a MA journey by any means, is the end of the first leg. It's like running a marathon (not that I do, but I'm going with this analogy...), the last mile is precisely the same length as the previous 25, or 12, or however many, but does it feel the same to run? No way, it's the last stretch, and as such the runner feels like there's more riding on it. In a black belt grading, you know that all the work you've done previously and in previous gradings has led up to this point, it's a culmination. For me it's the culmination of a six and a half year journey, that adds a lot of pressure.
I'm sure there are other things too, but I guess these are the major ones (from my own experience anyway).
Ian.
Shodan
Master Black Belt
Well said Ian- howz the arm? Pretty sore all over still?
Still no word?
:asian: :karate:
Still no word?
:asian: :karate:
OP
satans.barber
Master Black Belt
- Thread Starter
- #31
Yup, sore all over! My bruises have turned from purple to black now, lol!
And no, no word until Friday/Saturday I expect
Ian.
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CoolKempoDude
Guest
i know why it takes so long to have an answer.
may be, they are preparing bb certificate for everybody ????
may be, they are preparing bb certificate for everybody ????
OP
satans.barber
Master Black Belt
- Thread Starter
- #33
If only that were the case!
Actually, we're doing our own certificates, because the ones that he's come up with are really terrible! They're covered in clip art and they just look tacky.
Ian.
Actually, we're doing our own certificates, because the ones that he's come up with are really terrible! They're covered in clip art and they just look tacky.
Ian.
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pknox
Guest
Originally posted by satans.barber
Yup, sore all over! My bruises have turned from purple to black now, lol!
And no, no word until Friday/Saturday I expect
Ian.
Is that your next class, or do you have class before then? Perhaps they are watching you to see how you react.
OP
satans.barber
Master Black Belt
- Thread Starter
- #35
They won't be there! The men who graded us have all gone home, they live a long way away from here, so they won't get to see our reaction.
We have a class tonight, but I don't think that they'll have let us know by today....but you never know!
Ian.
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pknox
Guest
Hmmm. That is strange. I think you said you were graded by a panel, so I'm guessing there were people there other than your instructor. Are you going to see your Instructor in class tonight? Perhaps he/she can at least give you an idea of where you stand.
Either way, though, Ian -- seriously, don't worry. From the way you described your interview, plus the posts of yours I've read, it's obvious you're very knowledgeable. I'm sure you did quite well!
OP
satans.barber
Master Black Belt
- Thread Starter
- #37
Although my instructor was present at the grading (because he had to be), he's not actually coming to any classes at the moment. Sunday was the furst time I'd seen him since the last grading, which was in May - that's why I and the other higher belts have been running the club.
He won't turn up to present our black belts either I don't think (should we pass), he's basically having nothing at all do do with us at the moment unless he's absolutely forced (like he was on Sunday).
Ian.
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CoolKempoDude
Guest
do you come up with your own certificates? can we see a sample ????
Brother John
Senior Master
Ian
I agree with Doc on the philosophical/sentimental side. If it was me, I'd not let you test for a belt that I didn't already feel you desereved. Besides, being in front of a panel can mean that it's also a test for your instructor(s). Their handiwork is being scrutinized; so to speak.
Also: the wait until you find out the results (which were probably a foregone conclusion) could be seen as merely more of the test. Or at least something else to make you appreciate your rank all the more.
Either way: Good going.
Your Brother
John
Doc
Senior Master
Absolutely correct.
