I copied this from my Myspace. I put this blog up last year and figured I'd share it with you all here. I am now second dan, but it is always good to look back on where I've been. Please keep in mind that this was posted on a non ma site, so I had to go into a bit more explanation about dan ranks than I would normally go into here.
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As you on my friends list for any amount of time know, I have been preparing for my first dan promotion in Kumdo/Kumbup. The day was Saturday, the 24th, and yes, I passed! Here's how it went. First, we showed up and warmed up a bit. At ten, Master Kim called all of the testees to line up. We meditated for a few minutes, then he called us to attention. We each had to read our essay aloud. After that, we were tested on kumdo terminology. Then the hard part began. First, a warm-up of pyramids, which is ten jumping jacks, ten pushups, and ten situps, followed by nine of each, then eight, and so on, all the way down to one each. Then we had to do all of the hyung (kata or forms). We needed to not just do them, but to do them with our full energy and confidence. And of course, correctly. May seem simple, but it actually is physically demanding. After that, we had to show Master Kim and Master Choi our Juk-do technique, from tenth through first kuep. This is the sparring technique. After this, we had to one hundred each head, wrist, left waist and right waist attacks in a rapid step format. Four hundred of those with no break in between. Very demanding. After that, we were told to put on our hogu (armour). At this point, we had to perform gi-geiko (a drill consisting of nine head shots to the partner who defends; four forward, five back) with four different partners and then spar four people each, five minute matches with no break in between. We each started with two of the kyu rank students, then a second dan student; Jae, and finally, Master Choi. It was a grueling test. By the time I was on my match with Master Choi, I was pretty much out of energy, but that is the whole point. It was the most physically challenging event I have endured in years, and that includes tournaments. Nothing in sport fencing even compares to this. To put it in perspective, a black belt is considered to be a beginner with solid basics. Sort of like a bachelors degree; you've mastered what you need to be considered competant, but you are not a seasoned pro. By contrast, Master Choi at fifth dan has twenty years of kumdo. Each of us was fully worn out by the time we fought him, while he was fairly fresh and merely warmed up. Sort of like running a 10K, then going for twelve rounds against four different fresh boxers; the first two below your level, the next one above your level, and the last one is Sugaray Leonard back when he was in his prime. After the test, Master Kim and Master Choi conferred, then announced who passed and who did not. There were only three of us and happilly, we all passed! There was a small ceremony and then we were done. And that was just in time to go fencing with my son. Rest did not occur until much later. But when the day was done, I was very happy and very satisfied. This is a milestone for me, and a very happy one. My thanks to all of you for your support and cheering! Sephiroth and Wolf, thanks for showing up and helping out! You guys rock!!
Tags: Kendo Kumdo First Dan Black Belt
