It’s what under the surface
As a culture, I really believe we are goal-oriented in most things we pursue. Our job. Our desire to improve our life. Our health. I think healthy competition is a good thing. It can motivate us to reach the next level in our journey, whatever the case may be. The competition we tend to not talk about in the dojo is the competition with our self to get better. Get better at the techniques. Practice. The Etiquette.
We have a bunch of students being groomed for their next rank promotion. As a teacher/examiner and student that had to prepare, I wanted to offer some insight on what Main Sensei & I are really evaluating. “The actual Test is the demonstration. Everything leading up to the actual exam is the test.” Try and digest that for a moment. Every single behavior, movement, practice, energy, attitude is being evaluated. I don’t say that to try and worry you – I just want you to see what we are evaluating. Moving up in Rank is a privilege. And as you move up to the senior kyu’s and junior dan grades comes a deeper understanding and execution of the intangibles along with the actual techniques.
Attributes include:
-Showing the right attitude even when you come to the dojo stressed.
-Checking your Ego at the door when you’re being critiqued.
-Practicing the highest level of etiquette all the time, not just when you’re reminded.
-Pushing yourself physically to prepare.
-Carrying yourself as a serious student.
-Embracing a period of time to train hard.
These are the attributes we are looking at each class.
