The Black Belt During the summer of 2015 one of the most important events of my life occurred. Earlier that year I had been told that I was to test for my third degree black belt in August. At the beginning of the summer I started to attend Saturday classes that would help to prepare me for my upcoming test. When my testing day finally arrived I was prepared. I had done everything I possibly could to prepare for the test. However, even though I was prepared the massive challenge still loomed in front of me. By the end of the day I would pass my black belt test, although the road would be sweaty and tiring. The morning of my test I woke up at 7:30 to eat breakfast. My test wasn’t until 9:30, but I need time for my food to properly digest.
…show more content…
I stood at attention in front of the middle judge.
“Are you ready to begin your assessment?” the Judge asked.
“I am” was my reply. And with that simple exchange my testing began. I was first asked to perform all of the moves I had learned since starting martial arts. I did well on the forms assessment, and then moved on to the physical exam. I was asked to do a series of exercises ranging from push-ups, planks, and sit-ups; to pistol squats, claves raises, and high knees. The sheer amount of each exercise I was required to do pushed me to my physical limit and beyond. By the time I was finished with the physical portion I could barely lift my arms to shoulder height. After the physical and form portions of the test came the sparring portion. Right away I was up against two of the test proctors. “Bow. Take your stance. Begin!” the referee declared. Right away I went on the offensive I attacked the judge on the right while keeping the other judge in my line of vision. After I launched my attack I quickly back stepped to avoid getting surrounded. The whole five minute round was a game of cat and mouse. There was me trying to score points against the skillful duo, while trying to avoid getting totally overwhelmed. By the end of the five minutes I was hunched over and gasping for breath, but I had actually done well in
I stood at attention in front of the middle judge.
“Are you ready to begin your assessment?” the Judge asked.
“I am” was my reply. And with that simple exchange my testing began. I was first asked to perform all of the moves I had learned since starting martial arts. I did well on the forms assessment, and then moved on to the physical exam. I was asked to do a series of exercises ranging from push-ups, planks, and sit-ups; to pistol squats, claves raises, and high knees. The sheer amount of each exercise I was required to do pushed me to my physical limit and beyond. By the time I was finished with the physical portion I could barely lift my arms to shoulder height. After the physical and form portions of the test came the sparring portion. Right away I was up against two of the test proctors. “Bow. Take your stance. Begin!” the referee declared. Right away I went on the offensive I attacked the judge on the right while keeping the other judge in my line of vision. After I launched my attack I quickly back stepped to avoid getting surrounded. The whole five minute round was a game of cat and mouse. There was me trying to score points against the skillful duo, while trying to avoid getting totally overwhelmed. By the end of the five minutes I was hunched over and gasping for breath, but I had actually done well in