Almost Test Time

It's almost time to start the test to earn the first of four cute little stripes on my Blue Belt.

The test for this first stripe has 6 parts. Three are technique sections, and three are sparring. The candidate performs the required demonstration, which is videoed and sent off to HQ for evaluation.

The technique sections each must be completed inside of 15 minutes. They don't mind if you make multiple attempts, but there can be no editing of the recording. I am probably ready to record the first section now. The material of the second is the hardest, and I'm only just finishing learning the material of the third.

A big difficulty of the technique test sections is that an opponent is needed who knows exactly what to do. A perfect situation would be two people ready to test, acting as each other's partner. Next best would be a pool of higher-level people to work with.

I have no test partner, and there is only one higher-level guy around, and he's often out of town for work.

The other three parts are five -minute displays of sparring variations. One is wearing gi starting with the opponent having the mount, and the second is in shorts and rashguard with the candidate starting with the mount. The third starts standing, with the opponent wearing boxing gloves and portraying a punch focused attacker.

Any moderately experienced Blue Belt can perform the first two sparring sections, and even a White Belt could help with the third. No problem getting help with these parts.

My dream test schedule would have me banging off technique part one while I'm still reviewing the other two technique sections, and then doing them about a week later. It's harder to know with the sparring. I guess we'd just keep doing those until we've gathered a set of three good ones.

If it could all be done within a month I'd be ecstatic.

Helen wants to visit our friends in the interior again before the mountains in between get all snowy. So do I.

Then, assuming I pass, I'm all set for my training trip to Los Angeles at the start of 2014.