Iaido Test
It's been a year since I've started iaido.
Now a seminar will be held in Victoria, and a lot of high-ranking sensei's will be there from the headquarters in Japan. The highlight of that seminar is the examinations at the end, and I will be taking the test to attain my 1st dan ranking (most people call this 1st degree black belt if there was a belt ranking system).
I've been preparing all year for this, and have practised really hard. Although there are set techniques and we do not fight, each technique requires precision, proper stature, and full control. I don't think my sensei would've approved me taking the exam if it wasn't for my efforts.
I also haven't been going to Victoria in a long time. A long time as in 10 years. This will be a fun road trip, and the drive there wouldn't be as boring as the one to the Vernon seminar (thank God for sunflower seeds). I also wondered how much Victoria has changed over the past decade, as a whole bunch of people trapped in an island would surely get bored and try to make life more exciting. Yeah sure, they have a ferry to the Lower Mainland, which is how I'm incidentally going to get there, but when you have to pay the exhorbitant fares to get your car across, you're as good as trapped.
While parked in the waiting lot for our ferry, we had a nice tailgate party. One of the people in my club brought out some tea and Japanese-style snacks. It was a beautiful day to be close to the water and everything seemed perfect. Too perfect.
When we finally got into the ferry, it was already packed, with the queue to the buffet already encircling the entire cabin area. All waiting to get fat on food that'll make you feel seasick at ridiculous prices. The ride was fairly smooth, with a little bit of rocking. I was disappointed not seeing any orcas or sea lions out into the distance. Poor things probably have been run over enough times to know that it's best to stay away.
After making it to our hotel rooms, we looked around the immediate area, but there wasn't anything much except for a strip mall. We found a White Spot, but got fairly ripped off at the hors d'oeuvre sized portions. At least there was a liquor store so we can get drunk in our hotel rooms.
The next day was the first day of the seminar. All the workshops took place at the gym complex in the University of Victoria except for the last day, which is at a community gym/swimming pool facility closer towards the ferry terminal.
I was surprised at the sheer number of wild hares hopping around the UVic campus. At least if the apocalypse occurs and everyone is trapped on campus, no one will probably ever starve. I've always wondered what rabbit meat tastes like. Probably like chicken, only a little gamier.
The next few days was spent very productively at the workshops. I was glad I didn't have any bloody accidents like last time. We went over all the techniques that I've learned in the past year, with meticulous detail. You'd have to be pretty strict if you want to preserve a martial art that's been around for more than 500 years, and especially if that martial art is being exported far beyond its provenance.
Then the time for examinations came.
It consists of a written component, and then a demonstration component where I have to demonstrate four techniques which I've selected. To be more exact, the actual examination occurs throughout the seminar, as they judge your capability, attitude, and character throughout the weekend; the demonstration is more of a ceremonial role.
I was pretty nervous, but I was more determined not to screw this up. I've failed a 2nd dan kendo exam before, and only because I fucked up the technical demonstration by stepping back with the wrong foot. I know how horrible it felt to fail, so I wasn't going to let it happen again...
...and so I passed. I was very pleased, and so was my sensei and all the senpai's who put in all that time to teach me over the past year. We were talking about it all the way out from Victoria.
The trip back was met with the much more urgency, as we almost did not make it into the last ferry. Being a Sunday evening, everyone was in a rush to leave the godforsaken island to go home for work the next day.
In the ferry, we were met with the same line of the gluttonous, so once again, it was to hell with the buffet. Instead, there was plenty of room in the coffee lounge. For $5, we had all the hot beverages, fresh fruits, and cheese that we could eat. And the chairs were nicer an we had a better view of the scenery, not only because of location but also because the sights were not obstructed with fat people trying to stuff their faces.
I had so much coffee that I could've just jumped overboard astern and paddled the ferry across the Juan de Fuca Strait with the engines inoperative. The only reservation I had from doing so was the fact that this would be a purely voluntary effort, and I would therefore be left without financial compensation for my caffeine-fueled services. Well, that and my abhorrence to providing anything ad gratis to BC Ferries, which is on the contrary gouging anyone on wheels with its exhorbitant fares.
So all in all, it was a very nice trip. In fact, the only heartbreak throughout the whole trip was when my senpai borrowed a $20 bill from me in the car, only to allow it to blow out the open back window because he didn't hang on to it.
As of now, he still owes me that 20 bucks.
Now a seminar will be held in Victoria, and a lot of high-ranking sensei's will be there from the headquarters in Japan. The highlight of that seminar is the examinations at the end, and I will be taking the test to attain my 1st dan ranking (most people call this 1st degree black belt if there was a belt ranking system).
I've been preparing all year for this, and have practised really hard. Although there are set techniques and we do not fight, each technique requires precision, proper stature, and full control. I don't think my sensei would've approved me taking the exam if it wasn't for my efforts.
I also haven't been going to Victoria in a long time. A long time as in 10 years. This will be a fun road trip, and the drive there wouldn't be as boring as the one to the Vernon seminar (thank God for sunflower seeds). I also wondered how much Victoria has changed over the past decade, as a whole bunch of people trapped in an island would surely get bored and try to make life more exciting. Yeah sure, they have a ferry to the Lower Mainland, which is how I'm incidentally going to get there, but when you have to pay the exhorbitant fares to get your car across, you're as good as trapped.
While parked in the waiting lot for our ferry, we had a nice tailgate party. One of the people in my club brought out some tea and Japanese-style snacks. It was a beautiful day to be close to the water and everything seemed perfect. Too perfect.
When we finally got into the ferry, it was already packed, with the queue to the buffet already encircling the entire cabin area. All waiting to get fat on food that'll make you feel seasick at ridiculous prices. The ride was fairly smooth, with a little bit of rocking. I was disappointed not seeing any orcas or sea lions out into the distance. Poor things probably have been run over enough times to know that it's best to stay away.
After making it to our hotel rooms, we looked around the immediate area, but there wasn't anything much except for a strip mall. We found a White Spot, but got fairly ripped off at the hors d'oeuvre sized portions. At least there was a liquor store so we can get drunk in our hotel rooms.
The next day was the first day of the seminar. All the workshops took place at the gym complex in the University of Victoria except for the last day, which is at a community gym/swimming pool facility closer towards the ferry terminal.
I was surprised at the sheer number of wild hares hopping around the UVic campus. At least if the apocalypse occurs and everyone is trapped on campus, no one will probably ever starve. I've always wondered what rabbit meat tastes like. Probably like chicken, only a little gamier.
The next few days was spent very productively at the workshops. I was glad I didn't have any bloody accidents like last time. We went over all the techniques that I've learned in the past year, with meticulous detail. You'd have to be pretty strict if you want to preserve a martial art that's been around for more than 500 years, and especially if that martial art is being exported far beyond its provenance.
Then the time for examinations came.
It consists of a written component, and then a demonstration component where I have to demonstrate four techniques which I've selected. To be more exact, the actual examination occurs throughout the seminar, as they judge your capability, attitude, and character throughout the weekend; the demonstration is more of a ceremonial role.
I was pretty nervous, but I was more determined not to screw this up. I've failed a 2nd dan kendo exam before, and only because I fucked up the technical demonstration by stepping back with the wrong foot. I know how horrible it felt to fail, so I wasn't going to let it happen again...
...and so I passed. I was very pleased, and so was my sensei and all the senpai's who put in all that time to teach me over the past year. We were talking about it all the way out from Victoria.
The trip back was met with the much more urgency, as we almost did not make it into the last ferry. Being a Sunday evening, everyone was in a rush to leave the godforsaken island to go home for work the next day.
In the ferry, we were met with the same line of the gluttonous, so once again, it was to hell with the buffet. Instead, there was plenty of room in the coffee lounge. For $5, we had all the hot beverages, fresh fruits, and cheese that we could eat. And the chairs were nicer an we had a better view of the scenery, not only because of location but also because the sights were not obstructed with fat people trying to stuff their faces.
I had so much coffee that I could've just jumped overboard astern and paddled the ferry across the Juan de Fuca Strait with the engines inoperative. The only reservation I had from doing so was the fact that this would be a purely voluntary effort, and I would therefore be left without financial compensation for my caffeine-fueled services. Well, that and my abhorrence to providing anything ad gratis to BC Ferries, which is on the contrary gouging anyone on wheels with its exhorbitant fares.
So all in all, it was a very nice trip. In fact, the only heartbreak throughout the whole trip was when my senpai borrowed a $20 bill from me in the car, only to allow it to blow out the open back window because he didn't hang on to it.
As of now, he still owes me that 20 bucks.
posted by Cosmic Ocean at 12:24 PM
2 Comments:
Congradulations on your rank testing! We don't have ferry boats and the like her in Knoxville, but I dare say the anxiety of testing is brutal. I recently tested for Ni-Dan under a true 7th Dan in Iaido, and, needless-to-say, I was a mess. On the same path we strive.
--david-san, Knoxville, TN
I hope you passed David-san.
A funny thing that happens often in academic and perhaps martial arts life is that when you think you've failed you actually pass. The vice-versa can also happen if you get cocky about your performance and tempting the Fates to fail you.
Unless, of course, you knew you specifically screwed up something critical.
But it sounds like you've approached the exam with a humble mindset, which goes a very long way with the senseis evaluating you.
Good luck with your iaido ventures!
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