This posting is oddly difficult for me. I’ve been worrying at it like a dog with a bone for the past hour or two and I’m still not quite sure how to proceed.
Let’s start with something simple then. Something that I’ve been terribly grateful for. In the not too distant past, I would have been lit up for these posts about the testing. Doubly so because I am not just a student taking the test, but also a member of the teaching staff. Black Belt Test used to be a more closely guarded secret than the Kennedy assassination and Area 51 combined. It would be drilled into the candidates heads that this is something you DO NOT TALK ABOUT to anyone who was not already a black belt. MrM even made mention of this yesterday to our guests. Karate schools have a reputation for being cultish. The reason we allow guests for Phase 4 and graduation is to help dispel some of that reputation. In light of that point of view maybe it isn’t so surprising that I’ve been allowed to write these postings. Maybe I’ve been an unwitting pawn in this agenda!
So let’s breeze through the first hour of the test which was a written exam. Many back and forth translations between English and “do jang” Korean. A few questions about our linage back to Kwan Jang Hwang Kee. And a dozen or so “essay” questions. As a writer I would have loved to have more time to answer those in particular. One of them I have answered at length in a blog post back in 2013 (What does black belt mean to you? https://tippingthevessel.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/disrespecting-the-belt/ ) Maybe I’ll see if I can get my copy of the test back and see if there were any others that would benefit from a vessel tipping. Huh… after rereading that post myself, I realize that it doesn’t quite cover everything I wanted to say about it. Maybe after Phase 5 I’ll revisit it.
The second half of the testing consisted of being called up one at a time to perform a weapon demonstration, a minute or so of defending against an attacker (in a red man suit), and finally answering a question before the panel of black belts.
In a situation like this the best position to be in is to be called first. In this man’s humble opinion if you can’t go first it is best to go last. Guess when I was called up?
There were some truly brilliant displays that I got to watch while waiting for my turn to be called up. They had us sitting in the order we’d be called so I knew I could relax a bit and enjoy the show. Young MrC was on point with his (pardon the pun) sai form. MsZ rocked the sword form. MrsH blew us away with her response the the panel’s question… honestly I could go onto spotlighting everyone.
So finally everyone else is done and now its my turn. First order of business… the sai form. This was painful for me. Everyone else got to choose their weapon for the demonstration, mine was chosen for me. Not a huge surprise really. It’s where I’m at my weakest still. Third move of the form a sai goes flying… out of my good hand… *headdesk* The point got caught in my sleeve. So embarrassing. Oddly, this amused me to no end. I may have even laughed. I mean, this is (almost) exactly what I had been dreading. But from the good hand?
Started again. Second time through I nailed it. No issues, felt strong, and by the pictures that were posted I even looked strong. The fight against the red man was brutal and fun. To be able to completely unload everything on someone without having to hold back or worry about hurting them is cathartic.
The question, and this same question was asked of all the candidates, was “Describe how camaraderie had helped you to and through your black belt test thus far.” And this is why if you can’t go first it is best to go last. Everyone brought up really good points about us being able to lean on each other and pull each other through. How we’d been training together for years coming up through the ranks. MrsH with her “this goes beyond camaraderie, this is family”. There was nothing left for me to say, so I lead with just that “what is left for me say that hasn’t already been?” One of the black belts made a slightly snarky remark about it to which I replied “the advantages of going last. You get to wait to see if something was left out and fill in the missing pieces, or you get to talk for a few minutes without adding anything new and sound good while doing it.” That earned a couple of chuckles.
I think it is safe to assume, even without the letter, that this Phase is at the very least a Conditional Pass. After all they did give us the invitations for guests that we want to bring to Phase 5/Graduation Day. My wife and daughter will be joining me. I’m tempted to hand off two of the remaining invitations to non-black belt FISTs. I was always a little bothered that I never got an invitation to watch Phase 5 so we’ll see what comes of that.
Anywho… that’s all for now… 13 days til graduation. I’m a little excited.
Tang Soo!
tippingthevessel 