My 8th Kyu Yellow Belt Exam Review

I am happy to say that I received my exam feedback from Sensei Jon earlier today, and I have been promoted to yellow belt! While I did well on the exam, and am proud of my accomplishment, I do have a lot to improve on, and a whole lot to learn along the way. I can't thank Sensei Jon enough for the  detailed review of my exam. Sensei took the time to not only critique each and every part of my exam, but to offer his help and guidance, as well as demonstrate what I need to work on further, and what I need to correct.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I believe that filming yourself before your exam is a very helpful tool that all of us should take advantage of. While it helped me see what I immediately knew needed work, Sensei Jon was also able to show me some of my clips in slo-mo, and break down some movements and steps that need improvement. One of the things that I need to work on is my hip movement. While I did fairly well with hip movement in certain areas, there were quite a few times where I lacked movement. I believe this has to do with my previous martial arts training, and having to work hard to break that habit and perform my Shotokan techniques properly.

While I did pass my test, and will be moving on, I do have a lot of work to be done to practice on these yellow belt level techniques before focusing on new moves and katas.

I also wanted to mention the fact that taking the test can be a stressful thing for many students. In fact, there are many who do not advance in the program because of a fear of the exam itself, and of filming themselves, for many reasons. Please let me enforce the fact that all you can do is do your very best. When you work hard and put in the effort, there is no reason to be fearful of filming your exam. Sensei Jon has been extremely helpful along the way for me, and stresses that he is always available for any questions or concerns during our training. Sensei also mentions that the exam is no different than a demonstration of the moves that we have been working on all along, and we shouldn't feel any differently towards the exam. I hope that everyone takes advantage of this great opportunity to show what you've learned, and to continue to grow in Shotokan Karate!

8th Kyu Yellow Belt Exam

This past Saturday morning, I woke up nice and early and tested for my 8th kyu yellow belt. After months of training, and the past couple of weeks, focusing mainly on the exam, I worked hard, and felt confident in my test. I took the test outdoors, and really felt great being in the fresh, WARM Houston air, while demonstrating my moves and techniques. I look forward to receiving my review from Sensei Jon, and see what is next on my Shotokan Karate journey.

Practice Testing

Being hopeful of recording my 8th Kyu yellow belt test this weekend, I wanted to not only do another practice test, but to record it this time around and review it myself to prepare for my final test. I am glad that I did. While I was proud to have done many of the forms properly, there were a few areas that definitely need improvement. While my stances were strong in most cases, I found that during my kata, there were a few instances where, due to lack of space to perform the kata, I found my footwork to be walking through the moves, and not in proper stance. I definitely plan on practicing this and working through it to make sure that when I do test, my stances are strong and pronounced during all of moves. I highly recommend recording yourself doing a "practice test" before taking the actual test. It will help greatly!

Final Week Before Testing

This week will be my final week of training before my yellow belt test. I have been studying all of the lessons, and reviewing the test for quite some time, in between taking the classes at my training level. As I stated in a previous post, and also discussed in a recent podcast, Sensei Jon's sample test is extremely helpful, and a very useful tool when training and preparing to test. I used this as a training guide for my workout yesterday, and ended up doing the entire test as my class. I have a few more classes and lessons that I plan on getting in this week, and then I plan on testing this weekend. I will keep you posted!

Taikyoku & Heian Shodan

As I progress in my training, I am learning to use the forms and exercises in other aspects of my life. Last night, instead of a formal class, I chose to use the limited time that I had to not only practice my kata, but to do it in a way as to relieve stress that I have dealt with this week. I walked through both Taikyoku & Heian Shodan step by step while focusing on my breathing, as well as executing both kata as I would in a demonstration format. The things that can be done with martial arts are remarkable, and I am just cracking the surface. These things can work differently for each individual who practices karate.

Training Update

Things are continuing to move along and progress with my training. I am at about 94% of the white belt level curriculum completed, and am personally feeling closer to being ready to test for my yellow belt. Right now I have been focusing on the kata's, and the sparring, as well as taking the classes that are provided. I will be posting a new podcast in a couple of days, and will be you updated! Thanks for following me.

4th Of July Week Podcast

New Podcast Coming Tonight

I will be posting a new podcast later tonight with an update on my training, and how things are going overall. Check back here tomorrow!

The Importance Of Breathing

Throughout my training, I have noticed a significant improvement already in my stamina. A lot of this falls on conditioning, as well as focusing on proper breathing. As Sensei explains in the lessons and classes, the proper breathing technique to use is in through the nose, and out through the mouth. This lesson can be extremely important and helpful in all aspects of your life. As someone who has battled severe anxiety for over 20 years, I have spoken to Sensei Jon, and have implemented these breathing exercises into my everyday life, using the beginning levels of Tai Chi. One of my goals that I hope to achieve through my practice of karate, is to be free from anxiety and stress issues, or at the very least, to be able to control the issues on my own through breathing and self mastery. I am very hopeful that through training and practice, as well as inner peace and belief in myself, that I will be able to achieve this goal. Breathing is what gives us life, and it is important to remember that, and to breathe properly in all aspects of your training.

4th Of July Week

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend. My training to continuing to go very well, and I can see the intensity of the classes picking up with each class. I can also definitely feel that my stamina and cardio is improving since starting the program. I'm at about 85% complete of the 9th kyu training problem, and will soon be preparing to test for my yellow belt. As I mentioned in previous posts, I have been studying the sample test posted by Sensei Jon all throughout my training to better prepare myself when the time comes. Until then, I am still working my way through the classes, as well as starting to train on my own, and putting my own classes together for some training. I will be posting a new podcast either tomorrow or Friday, and I thank you all for tuning in. I have gotten some really great feedback, and again I thank you. Happy training!