No. 2 Pencil

DETAILS OF MY GOKYU TEST (All of 'em!)

THE DETAILS:
I took the 7:44am train and met up with my other dojomates, Hashiba San and Yumi San, in the last car. They both got on at earlier stations. We got to the testing location at 8:15 and had until 9:00 before the day would begin.

We milled around with some other students and I decided to find out what technique was being called "katatedori kokyunage omote." The first two guys I asked looked at each other and became confused, themselves. Finally, a sempai of mine came over and cleared it up.

After all forty-two of us arrived, the doors were shut and we started the day. We first had a regular class, led by Numata Sensei. He covered several basic techniques. As always, even with a technique that you've done hundreds of times, a good teacher can show you some aspect of it to tweak. Numata Sensei came by and pointed out the best way to straighten out uke's arm during the ikkyo pin. At about 10:15 we took a break and then moved on to some bok-to work. Almost every style of aikido teaches some sword work. Since Numata Sensei also does iaido, he is a little pickier than most. At 11:25, we took an hour long break for lunch.

I sat outside with Hashiba San and we each had onigiri (samurai snacks). We didn't change back into street clothes. At our ages, it's just not worth it to take off our sweaty clothes when we'll just have to put them back on in 30 minutes. The younger, highschool age people all changed and prettied up for their sack lunches.

We settled back into the dojo and waited for the unknown. They had us all line up to make sure we were there and then it was time for the first group of testers to perform. A pair of teens lined up for their test, which was 6th kyu. My dojomates and I were all taking the first test and it was for 5th-kyu. Apparently, there's some kind of age bracket that determines where you start.

Everyone, regardless of kyu test, had to perform bok-to cuts, first. One person counts for the group: ONE! (swing) UUEE! TWO! (swing) UUEE! THREE! (swing) UUEE! Each exercise was done ten times. The next exercise was a strike forward, then a pivot, and then a strike again: ONE! (swing) UUEE! (pivot, swing) UUEE! TWO! (pivot, swing) UUEE! (pivot, swing) UUEE!
The third exercise was a diagonal cut: ONE! (swing down to the right side) UUEE! (step up, change feet, swing down to the left side) UUEE!

After each exercise, the next person in line, would handle the counting. The "UUEE!" was a kiai of sorts that everyone did. With the groups being four people or less, I was number two in our lineup. That means I had to count for the swing/pivot/swing exercise. It's not that the basic movement is difficult. In our dojo, we never count and we never kiai. I was really nervous since, 1. I was in front of everyone, 2. It was my first test, ever, 3. I had to count in Japanese, 4. I had to remember to kiai, and 5. I had to do my best to do the movements correctly. I messed up the initial movement when we started and we had to begin again. Also, somewhere around 5 or 6 I started thinking, "Did I just skip a number?"

For the sake of it being easier, I hoped to be able to do the techniques with somebody else from my dojo. I think they purposely make sure you do it with a stranger, so you're not used to how they move and react. Yumi San and I were called out to from our dojo, first. Our partners throughout the test were probably a seventeenish year old and a twentysomething year old. After about two or three techniques, they rotated our partners.

1. suwari waza shomen uchi ikkyo shoto
2. suwari waza shomen uchi ikkyo
3. tachi waza katatedori shihonage
4. tachi waza katatedori kokyunage ura
5. tachi waza shomenuchi iriminage
6. suwari waza kokyu ho
7. ukemi

5. After our initial sets of four, each, Numata Sensei had some words. I have no idea what he said or to whom they were directed, but after he was quiet we did a few more.

6. I was the "attacker" first. He actually almost completely failed doing this technique. Since we were testing, and it was just for the beginner's rank, I mostly went through the motions. It didn't seem like it would've been proper for me to shut down his technique during a beginner's test. Also, he would be holding my arms down, next, and I didn't need any problems from this fellow.

7. This part was truly the test. The first two people that went, the teens, had to do three sets of thirty ukemi. All the young people had an amazing energy level. But still, somewhere between numbers 61 and 81, they were all stumbling around. The testees line up on one side and there is a call for the same number of yudansha to line up on the other side. The test emcee calls "Hajime!" and the yudansha proceed to throw the students. At thirty, there is a small break and a different set of yudansha are called up. At sixty, yet another group are called up.

During my group's round of ukemi, the first thirty were no problem. By the end of the next sixty, three of us were all about to die. It's all you can do to get off the ground. Forget about what you might consider a committed attack. It's all you can do to just step forward and grab their wrist. You also have no idea what number the count is up to. You just hope that the next time you stand up, your thrower has backed off and is halfway into a bow. After 60, we were all seated and taking a rest. My back was to the emcee and he began talking. Since I couldn't understand him, it's almost the same as if nobody had been talking at all. Finally, he peeked over my shoulder and motioned me to sit slightly offline with Yumi-san and the twentysomething guy. Thank God, I would not have to do another thirty. The teen guy didn't have the same fate. They pushed him onward for another thirty. Finally, after that, he looked like us. Sure, if you go to the bar, you want to be carded. You want to look younger. But not during a test! When it was Hashiba San's time, they only made him do thirty.

The more advanced tests looked a lot like ours. They just did a few more techniques and as a result were a little bit longer. The highest test was up to 2nd kyu. There was another gaijin there, and he was the only one testing to 2nd kyu. After each group tested, there was loud applause from the spectators.

When all testees had been tested, we had to line up again, as a group. Numata Sensei had some words for the group. To me it sounded like "Nihongo nihongo, nihongo nihongo nihongo. NIHONGO! wooden sword, nihongo nihongo nihongo. Wooden sword, nihongo." We bowed out and it was over. It was about 3:15pm.

COMMENTS:

I don't know when they do the black belt tests. It kind of seems unfair if kyu students can't watch them. We'd all like to see our own sensei's pushed and tested. To see them put there money where their mouth is. My sensei has been promoted from 4-dan to 5-dan. If secrecy is the case, I'm a little let down.

I feel like my dojo's sensei let us down, a little. On our last class before the test, Aoki Sensei or Nishimura Sensei didn't even show up. I sat outside with Hashiba San and we chatted for about 30 minutes when one of our sempai showed up. He was just late for our regular class and was surprised that we were alone. I think that my senseis should have taken a more personal interest in preparing us. They could have run through the testing procedure with us and in the least, showed us how they do the sword cuts with the counting. Hashiba San had some confusing with counting/swinging, himself.

So far, in regular classes, I'm rarely corrected. I'm a more advanced than other students in my class, but it's not like I'm correct all the time. I haven't seen anything new and I've mostly relied on my past training (As always, thanks Mike Sensei!) to do the techniques. To rectify this, I'm going to get out more and visit other senseis in my group. My sensei's might be taking a VERY light approach with us since as a group, we're beginners.

To improve my stamina for ukemi, I'm going to do more during our in class sessions which take place at the very end of training. I'm also going to incorporate some more stairclimbing around my neighborhood.

Time's up. Please put your pencils down.