By William Grønfeldt, 2nd Kyu, Yakami Shinsei-ryu Taijutsu & Karate-do, 1st Kyu, Bujutsu Kodosokukai Jikitai Karate-do, 1st Kyu, Bujutsu Kodosokukai sports Karate-do
My preparation for graduation started around Christmas, when I started training for the physical tests. I needed a very high fitness level, and that was mainly what I focused on in my training. Until the spring, the training took place on my own, and I did not train very intensely. My training consisted of my daily bike ride to and from school, which was approx. 17 kilometers, and then sometimes a ride on the bike in a gym along with other strength training.
As the physical tests began to approach, we started training together as a club, meeting regularly at the gym to do the test together, which helped me well on my way to reaching my goal. With the help of these training sessions, I was able to make it all the way to the finish line, despite a somewhat inactive holiday, and I was able to complete the test with a comfortable margin. In relation to KataFIT and the SKK test, I had started taking higher KataFITs since Christmas, so I was ready to score a 10 for the test itself. A month before the test I started training through the times as I had built up the strength and just had to get back to taking normal KataFITs instead of NOXs which I had been using a lot in my training. For the SKK, I had not trained particularly much, as it is more technical than strength-oriented. I just made sure to train it well for the local trainings, and focus on the corrections we had received for the test itself. Both the KataFIT and the SKK went without problems for the actual test.
It was also cool that no one had dropped out, which made the whole process more team-like than just each person's own graduation, and I got more of a feeling that we all went up as a team and we had to do our best for each other's sake. Also at this point I felt that a good part of the graduation was over because all the training over the last few months was leading up to these two tests and once they were over we had a little break before the final tests started. However, this was not the case, because the two physical tests are just there to ensure that you are in good enough shape to complete the other tests, and that is where the real challenge comes.
When a few weeks had passed and some of the later tests were close, we had a SB-BB (Honbu black & brown belt) training, and it was there that I discovered what my mindset should be going forward. We went through a lot of slow and fast katas, and even though we were also going slowly, I could feel that I was under pressure. In my eyes, this training was a warm-up for what would be waiting for the curriculum test, and it told me that I really had to work hard and show that I really wanted to graduate, and that day I went home and mentally prepared myself for the tests that lay ahead.
After some shifting of dates to fit everyone's calendars, the date was set for June 3rd. It was there that we expected to have to do a physical and theoretical syllabus test, but it was also suggested that we would have to do something more. For the KataFIT test, Kimu Sensei had told us that we should bring protective equipment and that we would need it. Nothing concrete had been told to us about the day other than the protective equipment, and we were told that even Jens Hanshi-dai had not been told anything about what was going to happen on the day, so I was prepared for the worst. Before the graduation had started, we had been told that Mads and I were not going up to shiai, but that Kimu Sensei would "invent something instead," so that was probably what was going to happen now.
On the day we get up there, and we start with a presentation that is reminiscent of many of the other presentations we have had throughout the year. We were told that some of the things from the presentation would be on the theory test, so I was extra careful in writing notes. Afterwards we were given the test itself, and although there were some questions I didn't know what to answer, I had listened well enough to pass. After the tests had been corrected and we were told that everyone had passed, we were lined up and asked some questions, which was the oral test. I only got one question, and it was one of the easiest: “what does Jokokan mean,” and the answer was very simple; the house with the eight powers.
When we stood on the line, we were also told that we had passed the physical curriculum test, as it had taken place during the training, where we did katas. But the game wasn't over yet, and we had to do melee OBC next. We started off by doing falls, and the intensity was set very high from the start. We got through the techniques from the different courses, and to finish we had to do strangulations on each other. It started out pretty good for me, but as I got more and more tired, I started to slow down and lose more weight. When the last lap was stopped, I was pretty beat up and not at all ready for what we had to do next.
Mads and I had to go up to shiai anyway. We would have to fight each other, Jesper Hjort and Michael Bekker. Mads started and I was his first match. I started off well, but just like with the strangles, I started to slow down as I got tired, which gave Mads the fight back. After a minute I was too exhausted to think properly and I barely managed to get out and rest before I had to go in and finish Mads' round. When my round began, Mads was my first match and already after 10 seconds I could feel the exhaustion that had changed the pace of the first round. The rest of my round was just me trying to survive while my opponent who was fitter just hammered me through. When it ended, I was one of the most relieved I've ever been. After Mads and I had just recovered we were told we had passed and we had done well and I was quite proud of myself for not once thinking about not getting up.
The following days I was quite sore and I had time to think about what had actually happened and I wrote a little to myself so I can look back on how I felt right after the match. I am very happy that I have tried it because it has given me an insight into reality and has given me a realistic picture of what I am capable of and what others are capable of.
A few weeks later come the final tests, which are the last OBC certifications, and the stamina test. I'm not too worried about the OBC test as I just have to do my best and I've done it before and the stamina test is just a milder version of the shiai test which I've already been through.
The OBC certifications are going as I expected and since I wasn't so nervous I didn't make as many stupid mistakes as I might otherwise. Coupled with the fact that we had already done the certifications for jujutsu and ShindenFight, which are the most demanding for me, I could focus more on the technique, which I like.
However, I was nervous about the stamina test. When the colored belts were out and graduating, I could feel my pulse rising, but I could reassure myself that it was easier than shiai. The stamina test always takes more than you expect and it was true this time too, but I had my dad and my brother on the sidelines and I couldn't let them down and after what feels like a long feature film I was stopped after the third round and I could go out and get some water. At this point I was pretty sure I had passed, but still it was great to stand up on stage and be told you were 2nd kyu, while all your mates had finished.
