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Taking the 1st to 2nd Dan Grading.
Most people would probably feel the same, but gradings are no-where near as worrying after you take them, than they are leading up to the event itself. In many ways, that’s how I felt about my last grading – “wondering what all the fuss was about”. Don’t get me wrong, after the event, I definitely knew that I’d taken quite a hard grading, but it was the feeling of “was all that pre-grading stress worth it” now that I look back on it?
One of the big problems I found with this grading (which was markedly different to other gradings I’ve taken), was the volume of physical techniques I was expected to remember, in addition to the large amount of philosophy which needed revising. My advice to anyone thinking about taking the Nidan (2nd Dan) grading is to plan your “campaign” early. About 4 months prior to the grading I got to a stage where I thought I could remember all the techniques, however, a couple of weeks later, I suddenly found that 3 techniques were a complete blank! As if it’s not bad enough trying to accomplish this memory feat, as anyone who has ever trained with different Senseis will tell you, different instructors have different “interpretations” on the same technique – which gives you even more to remember!
To anyone who trains regularly (2-3 times a week), fitness should not present a problem, but make no mistake, you can expect to sweat! On the physical side, we did Umpoho (footwork) first, Ukemis (rolls) second, followed by Tenshikens (Kata) and then Juho (soft side) techniques. After this, we were required to put on the protective Dos (body armour), and we kept these on for the Goho (hard side), Kumi Embu, all the Randori (free-form fighting), and finally we did 40 press-ups – all on a warm August Saturday afternoon!
Having to wear a Do for the majority of the physical elements was something else that differentiated this from other (previous) gradings. One of the key aspects which examiners are looking for (at this stage) is application, i.e. do you have full control of your fists and feet, and can you hit someone (wearing a Do) effectively?
It was the day after that I fully appreciated that I’d taken such a strenuous grading – I didn’t have too many muscular aches and pains, but I did feel physically drained. I suspect that the adrenaline had a lot to do with it – after all, you can feel the tension rising approximately 2 hours before the official start time . . . . it’s only natural. Having said that, how you cope with the stress is part of the grading.
Bernard Morgan