March 3, 2007

2nd Kyu

Testing was this morning; promotions are later in the week. I passed my test for 2nd kyu-two black stripes on my brown belt.

There were about 22 people testing today, mostly white belts going for second stripes or yellow belts. We have such a large group right now. When I started there was a decent sized group too, but my groups’ numbers have dropped tremendously. Some people moved; some people quit. After green and brown belts people seem to start dropping like flies.

There is a lot to remember as you move up in the ranks. Thankfully, I remembered it all today, which was a nice change from last time.

Today was the first time that I didn’t really get nervous at testing. I think that the blindfolded self defense was a big confidence builder for me and it gave me a boost I needed.

The one white belt who was an attacker the other night was testing for his yellow belt today. I asked him if his finger was o.k. from when I cracked it pretty good. He said his finger was fine; it was his knees that were hurting him. I had no recollection of hurting anyone’s knees so I asked him what I did. He told me that when he grabbed the front of my gi with both hands, I peeled him off and took him down unexpectedly. I told him I didn’t even realize I had done that, and told him I was sorry. He said it was no big deal. I have to admit I am feeling pretty good about the fact that I took a big guy down without even realizing it. It’s funny how your body just does things without you even realizing it. Muscle memory is so cool.

So testing is finished and I’ll have a new black stripe to add to my collection. There’s only one more test before black belt. I’ve got a lot of work to do.