Not the actual color orange. At least not my complexion, anyway. No the orange I'm referring to is a belt color. Yeppers! I passed my last karate test! Joe passed his back on April 3rd. While I was dancing away the night with my gals and a pole, Joe was working hard demonstrating his crazy ninja skills. So, technically, he has been an orange belt for one week longer than I. But I'm okay with that... I can still kick his butt! lol
I was nervous, to say the least, considering the boot camp testing we experienced at our first rank advancement. I was even more nervous because this would be a private test with just two of us. No one else for Sensei to watch and critic. But turns out it was an awesome experience! I worked hard, no lie. He had me sweating buckets within a few minutes. If not for all the fatty food I'm eating right now, I probably would have lost 10lbs. But it was well worth it. I really like how personable the exam was. We demonstrated not only our physical abilities, but our mental acuity as well. I loved discussing the theory behind action. Things like "Where is our target? Why are we striking their? What should be the result?" I'm weird like that, always wanting to know the why not just the how. At the end of the test he asked us, individually, if we thought we deserved to advance. My first instinct was to say no. (I'm lacking in the self confidence department. If any one hears of a sale, please let me know because I'd like to pick up some extra). But then I thought about the effort I gave while at the studio. How I almost never miss a lesson. And I considered the hours at home I had spent practicing and drilling what he taught us. Finally I thought about how much it meant to me. How much I wanted to excel in this aspect of my life. When it came my turn to respond, I shared these thoughts with him. It was great to hear him validate what I had been thinking. You don't get that from a group test. As crazy intense as that night was, I'm glad I had the opportunity.
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