Hi I’m Tanya. I’m currently a 1st Kyu (brown with 2 white stripes) and I will be grading for first Dan (Shodan) on 10 June, alongside 5 others from Senshi Karate. I’m writing a blog about my journey to Shodan. In previous months I have written about the importance of stamina, overcoming fear, control and doubts.
It’s only 1 week to the grading now so this blog post has my last few thoughts before the big day.
Firstly, it took a lot of guts to book the grading in the first place. I think I had the link ready and actually chickened out of clicking it about 4 times. But the relief once it was done was immense. Who knew just booking it would take such a lot of mental energy?
Training-wise, things have really ramped up in the last few weeks; we’ve had the Performance Course run by Senseis Rob and Jamie; a special seniors session run by Sensei Sam (before the Senshi Karate kyu grading); and also a mock grading, run by Sensei Frank. In short, the training has really pushed me a lot. The flipside is that I’m trying desperately not to get injured. It’s a fine line between training hard and pushing it too far. The aftermath of the Performance Course could still be felt in my buttocks for 10 days afterwards!
One side-effect of trying not to get injured is that I’m now getting a lot of phantom injuries – I’ve had dodgy feet out of nowhere, tummyache, tight hamstrings, mystery toe pains… They are all in my head. I’m just ignoring them and they do go away. Going for Shodan is WAY more mental than physical!
The thing I still need to work on between now and the grading is my nutrition: I found myself with wobbly legs after the mock grading and Sensei Sam’s training. The sort of wobbly legs that need a hot sugary tea to sort out. That says to me I need to seriously think about energy nutrition on the day and be well prepared.
But mostly this week will be spent putting my head in the right frame of mind. I want to be calm, focused and confident. As a wise Sensei once told me: “Your approach should be that you’re already a 1st Dan, you just need to get the examiners to give you the belt.” And that is the attitude I will be going in with.
(That was Sensei Arianna by the way.)
I will share my experience of the grading after the event, pass or fail. Obviously I’ve set myself up for a public fall if it all goes pear-shaped. But as I said on my last blog, a Dan grade is only a milestone on a lifelong journey. So if it takes me a little longer to get there, then so be it. Wish me luck!
Senshi Karate 