10th Kyu White Belt White Belt -beginner, Eye of the Tiger potential , but very ignorant in the beginning. I am a little nervous, but the instructor is cool, he hollers a lot, not at me but every time he throws a punch or kick, weird, hope he doesnt make me do it!, I aint crazy about hollering at people its bad enough I have to wear those funny looking pajamas and on top of it all I hate wearing white, I wonder what that is all about having to wear white, I get bored real easy even though it is cool when they kick! I like how they do a bunch of punches and kicks together and the it looks real ,kinda like a movie , looks cool in person ! Ill use the coupon up and quit after I get those funny looking PJs! 3 months Later. 9th yellow Belt Karate is like the Ocean ,wild ,unpredictable and dangerous! Received my first belt, pretty cool! Scared to death from the time I walked in the Dojo, yellow looks good on me, wow!!, every body beat me up today, Kata was the hardest, fighting was fun, that Mr.Tanaka hit me hard, knocked the wind out of me, STUCK ME PRETTY GOOD !!, but hes cool , strange but cool! Hoorah!! I am a yellow belt, yeah! I cant believed I passed, it was the the hardest thing I have ever done and the most fun! It was like a new Horizon! I didnt think Karate was this way , I mean it is fun but something different, I really cant put my finger on it yet, it is not just learning the respect but the way everyone works together everyone treats everyone is the same, even the Black Belts are beating on you, I like that ! Six months later 8th Orange Belt As the day ends, feel in your heart you have absorbed much knowledge! Man in my heart I thought the yellow belt test was hard, but this test was the hoot!! They had me do this drill called Bull in the Ring, no warning of this drill, I have never practice for this drill , I never seen it in class , it was a advance only drill!!, I am nervous , what are they going to make me do , Im nervous !, a circle of Black Belts , Kyu grades and surprises surround me and are given numbers, a instructor calls out one number and that number attacks you with a punch or a kick or grabs you, I have to defend myself in front of a board of Black Belts, spectators and fellow students, now after I have gone though three or four circles of basic technique, the board says Kick it up a bit ,please so now the Instructor is calling out four and five numbers at a time and now I feel my Karate and it happens ,block, sidekick, front leg sweep, drop my knee on his chest, punch him, grabbed on the right shoulder, break the little finger and thumb from second opponent, lock his arm , symbolize breaking it , KIA very loud with much spirit, elbowing the head several times, grabbed his groin rip it , hammer fist his foot, his head drops, elbow him in the face , get up and third opponent puts me in a bear hug, back head butt to face , stomp the foot hard ,drop to low horse stance , right and low elbow strikes to both sides of his body, step across pop the groin ,when his head drops down ,poke his eyes, sweep him, stomp him , stand up and be ready for next opponent. My Karate was for real and My instructor had just proved it to me, the rest of the test was strong, hard but easy compared to being taught under certain circumstances , it is good to know real Karate at this level and I wonder if I will ever make Black Belt , that is way to far to think about that, but I think I want to try, man Im tired but I am a orange belt now in Japanese Karate and now I want to train as much as ever and learn as much as I can . Ten months later 7th Blue Belt What will I learn in my next class? Todays test for my Blue belt , we were introduced to Sport Karate point fighting and let me tell you it is different than anything we have done up to this point , first of all, it is about Ippon , one technique knock -out or symbolizing a knock -down or knock -punch or kick to a legal target area ,cool!! .This part I didnt like, we had to wear hand pads and footpads and hear gear and mouth pieces and groin cups , to much stuff! , one of my friends told me there is a karate competition where there is knockouts and one punch ippon attitude and there are different circuits, you can win trophies and awards cool!, I might like this avenue!, my first tournament is in two months after my next test , I will train for this and be prepared, kinda nervous about doing this karate stuff in public but my Sensei says competition is good but only 1% of real Karate, always remember that, so another door has opened, oh, one more thing I learned a new word today Oss!! ,meaning respect and acknowledgement of ones attitude toward you , You say it not because Sensei tells you to say it , but because you have earned the privilege to say it among your fellow warriors and peers ,this is loyalty, this is trust, this is acknowledgement ,oss First Sport Karate Tournament Very exciting to say the least ,hundreds of people watching you perform and the pressure of representing your school, but mainly your Sensei , Tanaka Sensei has got me here, now I do this day for Sensei, I have told no one my thoughts but this is what my hearts says. I have trained hard for this thousands of punches on the Makiwara, hundreds of kicks, take downs, sweeps and follow up, I am defensive ready, I can be offensive also, back fist , reverse punch, spin back kick, I owned them, Sensei has taught me that, have confidence in your technique, pure PMA, live for the ippon , if your going to do sport karate, do the best that you can and go for the win! Got disqualified for excessive Contact, reverse punch to the body, he could not continue !, judges said it was excessive with no control , Oss ,, Sorry, Tanaka Sensei please forgive me. One year later 6th Green Belt The Test was hard but different this time , I was totally prepared because I want this! , I want this real bad!, all I think about is Class and Sensei Tanaka I cant believe I have stayed a year and now in the advanced class , I mean , this is a big deal, my background , my attitude when I first came here , a complete turnaround ! I AM ALLOWED TO WORK OUT IN THE ADVANCED CLASS ! I am so excited!, oss I have learned so much and my life has changed , attitude, just believing in something is cool, and now I get to work out with Mr. Tanaka, Sensei , he is so different than the other Black Belts, different I mean he is sharper ,more precise ,almost scary he is so fast , now I get to hit the Makiwara , boards cover in hard rope at punching and kicking heights, I would watch sometimes the advanced class and Black Belts would hit the Makiwara 500 times , exhausted , knuckles bleeding , back then I thought they were crazy and I would laugh at it , now I cant wait to get permission to do it and work on my kime and get my knuckles bleeding ! Bull in the ring , pure self defense and street application, Kata, Application of Kata, Bunkai precision movement of the Kata applied to ukis attacking, this is what I have learned and I want my Black Belt. Bull in the Ring in Acapulco, Mexico Sixteen months later 5th Green Belt /Black stripe I have been a advanced student now for almost a year and today I test for my Black Stripe today, this will be a two part story for what I feel now and how I feel after the test. I have to admit it has been tough, these classes are harder, more complicated and way over my head. I have to listen and watch the Black Belts , they are a tight nit group , very friendly but stern. I didnt understand washing the toilets and cleaning the bathrooms the first three months before I could workout, but now I do, you earn everything and when you do, you appreciate it so much more, cleaning, earned me the privilege to learn more for it humbled me in a way you cant explain unless you experience it and the Black Belts knew that. Sure they would make fun of me but, they would also teach me, guide me and beat the crap out of me. They taught me how to love the pain! My next entry will be after the Test , five Black Belts are going up in Dan ranks , guess I am going to be fresh meat, hope not but, dont mind since all of them beat me up every night anyway! I am sitting in back of this Japanese Sushi Bar over on the big Island and the entry about the Test is pretty short and sweet I passed, got my butt kicked all over the place, broke my first board and saw one of the Black Belts go berserk in Bull in the Ring, he wasted a couple of dudes, I mean knock them out cold, they had to be revived with smelling sauce , I was so nervous when they called my number to grab him, he dumped me but didnt hurt me like he did those Black Belts , scary as hell, real Karate! I feel one of my best test, starting to understand how the animals play their part also didnt Bleed!, no broken bones! and my uniform {Gi} didnt get ripped. I have gone though three uniforms, ripped and torn ed from body, finally for my birthday got a Tokaido Brand 14 ounce canvas from Japan. Sensei said I will grow old with this Gi, oss! Twenty-one months later 4th Purple Belt This was the hardest test I have ever been a part of because of the bunkai, all bunkai had to be performed for all Pinan ,Teki and Heian Kata and then applied , you would start your kata, the board would stop you ,you would be asked to perform bunkai and then go on . I did five rounds of Bull in the ring and was a Uki for all the Black Belts going for higher Dan Ranks . I believe I was more wasted before my basics as I have I have never been before because I had to do all the bunkai and Bull in the Ring with the Black Belts, five bad, bad dudes, beat me up pretty good , love the pain!! The fighting was the normal except that this test, the Board seem to emphasize this group needs to know strong ,strong BASICs, there was nine of us going for purple and four going for third brown and five Black Belts testing . I believe the word Kihon meaning basic was thrown at us hard and the other new word is Kime , Focus my technique in precision standard. After this test, also ,a couple of the Black Belts came up to me and said I did good, I was really humbled, after all I haved come a long way in my training but especially in my attitude. Sensei came up to me and pulled me to the side, he was always so polite but mysterious at the same time, he said Purple belt is like being at the oceans edge and your ready to venture out into the water, deep water, full of danger and life, these are the brown belt years, purple will prepare you for that encounter and hope you are prepared well for most brown belts quit for they just can not take the pain!, oss Two years later 3rd Brown Making Brown belt was impressive, Basics, Basics, Basics and more Basics, Konk Ku Dai, Seisan kata, Advance Teki Kata all Kata Bunkai applications, Black Belt attackers only Bull in the Ring and one on one, two on one, three on one, four on one, five on one Kumite , no rest between rounds , no water, no excuses , no quitting and, Well I have graduated from cleaning the toilets to sweeping the front of the matted area everyday before the Black Belt Class , Sensei says he did this so all the Black Belts can see me all the time and see I have good technique in sweeping, I said in much respect , They see me enough when they beat the crapped out of me ! sir, said with much respect , oss One year later 2nd Brown This test I was in charged of setting everything up, I spent the night in the Dojo and help host the special guest Sensei Tanaka brought in, went to the lumber company and got the bricks and boards for the Test, set the chairs, tables and made all the refreshments, got all the paperwork together, it is like preparing for a huge storm that you know is coming, cant believe Im testing for second Kyu Brown , what a ride it has been !! Gotta go, Black Belts are arriving, will write later if I survived!! Well, I am at the hospital with four of us that got banged up today ,my finger is broken and I am the lucky one, the other guys got knocked out by our special guest today at the Test and one guy is not waking up, everything was OK, until we got this guy in a corner, bad mistake, he hit Charlie first, round kicked Bobby, did a picture perfect jump spin back kick in the face on Kea and kicked my hand when I grabbed him, he smiled as if he knew he had hurt me , we were all going for second Kyu except Kea, he was going for Black, maybe thats why he knocked him out. Update ***I was in the back room and heard the Black Belts talking , they said Kea was running his mouth about the test and he was not going to be stopped , well I hope Kea wakes up , heck I hope we passed, so many people were hurt when we left for the Hospital , I dont know , brutal test !! Learned a lesson, never talk out loud before a High Dan test and say your thoughts if you do expect a world of hurt !, oss Kea finally woke up , I didnt leave his side though the night, scary night, man that was a heck of a test, it wasnt the toughest test but it was the one that made me the most nervous. Real Karate is a scary adventure like a bad, bad storm!, oss.. Passed . Three years later 1st Kyu Brown Bull in the ring , pure self defense and street application, Kata, Application of Kata, Bunkai precision movement of the Kata applied to ukis attacking, this is what I have learned and I want my Black Belt. I know I am a Black Belt now in my mind heart and body ,I just have to go though the hardest part of my life the next five hours or so and show I am ready to be a white belt all over again and realize making Black if I do, it is a whole new beginning , just like starting over with good strong basics ,oss Sensei has me fighting and doing Kata every weekend at any event he can put me in ,normally I run Sepai or Ni Gi Shi Ho or Teiki Kata ,if I tie I run Supra Empi, a Goju form I learned from a Goju Student visiting Sensei Tanaka two years ago , it normally wins Grand , dont use it unless extreme conditions ,oss This Test I am ready , I want Black Belt really bad!,, oss It was what I expected and also learned a great lesson ,never quit, always do the best you can and always help a friend in need , today I sacrificed a situation and saved a friend but I got stuck pretty good for the decision ,afterwards ,a couple of Black Belts came up to me and said they would have done the same thing ,that made me feel pretty good ,even though I got a bruised rib and black eye , take care of your bras Passed.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 18:26:32 +0000
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