By Claus Hansen, Member until 2017

This degree has been a while in the making for me, there have been quite a few challenges and it has cost blood, sweat and tears. Ok maybe not my blood and tears but at least a lot of sweat and hard work as well as a lot of bruises, 3 skin scrapes and 1 wooden leg.

I actually started with the preparations already after the 2nd kyu graduation. And in a way, 1 kyu graduation was harder than the others and yet it wasn't as hard as I imagined. I have wondered a lot about it afterwards, what actually made me feel more on top of this graduation than the previous ones, despite the fact that I am older and that it was actually quite a bit more demanding than e.g. 3. kyu.

Of course, the fact that I had a long preparation time and that I had set myself some achievable goals for physics plays a role. The fact that I listened more to other people's criticism and good advice probably also had a part of the credit. I owe my training mates and instructors a big thank you, as they tried to bring out the best in me, whether I succeeded I will leave it to them to judge, their advice and sparring have certainly helped me through.

The long preparation time allowed me to get in good shape to cope with the physical demands. Although I was at the top approx. 3 months earlier and the form dropped a bit towards the graduation. However, I still had no problems completing either the circles or the subsequent running test. In fact, I had plenty of surplus for the Coopers test, which surprised me somewhat. Whether it was endorphins or I was just in good shape, I have not been able to find out. However, I had a challenge, which was running the treadmill, as it could not run quite as fast as I could run (ed. 16 km/h). It must be said in its defense that it was from an earlier date, but it is still bad when you have decided to give yourself 100% and it is then the mechanics that set the limit.

The positive, however, is that the physical surplus came in handy later, as I could partly keep my head fairly clear, even though I was down to my socks.

But time also allowed me to reflect more on the unresolved things that I was hiding. I think it was that I was clear about many of my small and big problems, which helped me when I was really under pressure, like during the kumite test and the amok test.

Now it didn't just come from one day to the next. You just had to swallow a couple of camels to get there. For example, I'm really bad at listening. Something I continuously work on. But once you have recognized that not all the advice you get is given with evil or hidden intentions, many things actually become easier, you just have to remember the advice you were given and keep working on yourself.

It also helped that I read more in the curriculum. There are actually many good things in that syllabus. Many of them have taken me some time to understand, I readily admit that there is still something I don't understand. But it was still an educational read.

The funny thing was that even though this was the 4th time I was up (I got sick the first time I was up to the 2nd Kyu graduation) I was strangely still nervous about the syllabus test. I wasn't the only one though. But then it was good that Kimu Sensei quickly removed that nervousness.

The Ryugi test didn't go quite as well as I had hoped it would. The Kumite test went somewhat better, although I had a hard time remembering the matches, who I fought against and how many matches there were when it was all over.

The strange thing was that no matter who I was fighting against, I wasn't nervous or "scared". And I remember at one point taking turns standing in front of both a 4th dan and a 6th dan. Whether it is due to the schooling for battle, fatigue or adrenaline, I have not been able to figure out. But it was a great feeling afterwards. Also, it taught me a lot as I made quite a few mistakes. It was a strange and exhilarating experience to try kumite that way. But the best advice I can give to others going through it is the same as I got. "enjoy" it, be clear and take care of yourselves.

Claus