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!