By William Grønfeldt, 1st Kyu, Yakami Shinsei-ryu Taijutsu & Karate-do, 1st Kyu., Bujutsu Kodosokukai Jikitai Karate-do, 1st Dan, Bujutsu Kodosokukai sports Karate-do.
My way to 1. Kyu Yakami Shinsei-ryu Taijutsu & Karate-do
After a year of lots of training and a month of stop tests, on 15/6 2024 I was graduated 1st Kyu in Yakami Shinsei-ryu Taijutsu & Karate-do. That degree includes my first black belt degree, namely the single track 1st Dan Gensei-ryu Karate-do, which is of course very special to me. It's not a real black belt yet, but it's pretty cool to know how close you are to reaching one of the big Milestones you've been looking forward to ever since you started.
This graduation has been very different for me than the last graduation. Last year, many of us were up, and there was a lot of physical pressure at the end of the graduation process. It was both because the physical demands were increased compared to the previous year, and because we also had to go up to the Shiai test, which was far beyond the limits of what I had ever tried before. The same physical pressure wasn't there for me during this graduation period, especially because we weren't doing Shiai. On the other hand, for me, there has been a lot of mental pressure throughout the process, right from the start.
It has mainly been myself and my own way of thinking that created that pressure, and I think it started when my training partner, who I have otherwise accompanied in belt degrees, was sorted out in the graduation process quite early. Combined with the fact that there wasn't as big a field of graduates this year, I felt like there was more focus on me and I could be sorted out at any time if I wasn't good enough. I also had a bad habit of comparing myself to Pia, which at the time was the degree I have now, and there was the problem that I couldn't see myself at a technical level equivalent to Pia's.
Therefore, I felt in deep water in some of the techniques and series I had seen Pia practice for several years, which I could barely remember myself. I was very aware that it was not good for me to think that way, and as the graduation process progressed, I got better at staying focused on myself and my own technique and trusting that what I could do was good.
Otherwise, the graduation went roughly like the previous years with lots of physical training from Christmas until the graduation window and of course lots of karate training. A small change was the addition of the POMW course, which was not specifically part of the graduation, but which of course was included in the overall assessment of one's progress, and therefore counted. The POMW is a very good tool for training your attitude, as it is actually easy to shoot, but requires effort and proper technique and process to see good results. And the results are very clear because the holes in the disc provide immediate feedback.
This tool I never used properly when I first took the course 5 years ago, but after starting the course again, I now try to incorporate the messages of POMW into my shooting training and also my karate training. It has helped me a lot to have the two courses, karate and shooting, running at the same time, as shooting has really made it clear to me how important a correct attitude is, and I have been able to (try to) transfer that to my karate. It has worked for me briefly during shooting, so if I can do the same with karate, I will be able to see great progress in a relatively short time. And I could imagine that 😊.
My goal is to go for the black belt next year. There are many things I have to learn, but luckily I have a whole year to do it. I'm definitely better today than I was last year, and I feel pretty confident that the next year will be really good for my development, regardless of whether it ends up with a black belt or just one more year .
