I'm Doing A What Now???

[Newbie]

AAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrgggggggghhhhh!!!!!! !!

I've been doing jo for two weeks. I'm grading in a month. Exactly a month. I've never done a grading before. I've been doing kendo for a year but haven't had the chance to grade.

Oh my god.

[bobdonny]

chill dude,

The big sensei dude would not have put you forward if he thought u weren't ready.

Have faith

[MikeW]

Relax and practice.

[Newbie]

Not sensei, sempai. He just got his shodan in jo. He and his partner (who has unfortunately now gone to Japan) also came second in the last nationals for jo, which is very cool.

I know the whole 'just relax and get on with practise thing' and been told first grading in iaido, kendo and jodo is dead easy (one person put it as "rock up, wave your stick around, show proper respect and rei and you'll pass") but... well, does stop the butterflies. Thing is, we have a shodan for seitei jodo in Adelaide and that's it as far as I know so when you've got three senseis coming for a seminar that can grade people, you take the damn opportunity. There aren't many of us here that do jo and one of the guys organising the seminar that doesn't do jodo told me that because of that, it would be a waste for me not to grade.

*whimper*

You know though, what really surprised me was that the first time I did jodo, I was shown the first four, so that weekend (it was on a Friday) I practised the first four then my sempai told me just to do the first two and concentrate on getting them down properly. I started taking jo seriously cos my asthma's been too bad for kendo so whilst my dojo-mates have been doing kendo I've been doing jo. Because my sempai said to only do the first two, that's what I've been doing. I'm amazed that I can do the first two over and over again for over an hour and a half just on my own without getting bored at all. The guy I normally practise with when my sempai isn't there who knows a lot more than me (but still isn't graded and is a kendo nidan) also doesn't mind just doing the first two with me and I think he's getting a lot out of it even though he knows some of the kata and stuff.

I swear though I'll get out there and drop my jo in front of the senseis. *whimperwhimper*

[abryson]

Hi there newbie,

I am new to Iai and Jo, however I have done my share of gradings in karate. Important thing in any grading is to forget about the instructors panel, focus on your technique and your imaginary opponent, though you will have Shidachi(Uchidachi??) i would imagine.

If you make a mistake, try to continue without err'ing, if not possible then start fresh. Remain calm.. everyone who is there aside from your other peers doing their first grading has been there before, they know what you are going through.

Cheers,
Drew

[Budo Angel]

I've been doing jo for two weeks. I'm grading in a month. Exactly a month

What level grading are you doing after just 1 month ??? I'm shocked, its so fast. But I don't want to be assumptive...is it a low kyu grading...or ikkyu ?

Relax and practice

That too !! good advice, but after only 1 month ???!!

[Newbie]

Just gokyu (gokyu's lowest in jo, right). It's partly an opportunity thing. It's either that or try to get to the iaido/jodo nationals in January. However in July we'll have three senseis coming to give a seminar and do gradings.

Abryson - the first grading for jodo is just the first four kihon so no uchidachi.

There's a post miscellaneous events forum for the weekend

Unfortunately I've hit a snag - I discovered tonight that my third kihon (whassit called?) is craptacular. *whimper*

[Budo Angel]

Good luck, that explains everything.

Just gokyu (gokyu's lowest in jo, right)

I'm slight shocked Australia grade kyu grades - Britain does not. The first grading here is ikkyu (1 kyu).

[Aden]

Correction - the lowest grade in Australian ZNKR jodo is yonkyu. Yonkyu is (as Newbie correctly says) just kihon tandoku, kata enters the test at sankyu, from ikkyu the AKR examinations appear almost the same as the British Kendo Association examinations.

The yonkyu test is very straight forward and really an introduction to grading and an aknowlegement of membership, consisting of reiho honte/gyakute/hikiotoshi/kaeshitsuki run very similar to a kendo kyu grading with dojo steward calling out instructions.

Normally 6 weeks of practice (where Newbie indicates they will be by the end of July) is plenty of experience for yonkyu, especially if there is prior kendo experience so things like tenouchi and kikentaiichi are already present to a greater or lesser degree.

Don't panic if your hikiotoshi is currently craptacular - for the next couple of weeks continue to focus on your first two, and doing the last two slowly focussing on the gross motor side of things to give the visiting sensei enough to work on during the seminar weekend..

Do you have the ZNKR jodo manual and video available in Adelaide?

Aden Steinke
University of Wollongong Kendo Club
http://www.uow.edu.au/~aden

[Nakura]

Don't panic if your hikiotoshi is currently craptacular

Indeed! Especially considering hikiotoshi is one of the more difficult techniques to get right in jodo...but as bobdonny says, your sensei wouldn't have put you forward for it if he didn't think you were ready. My advice is just relax and focus on the techniques...gambatte!

[satsumaruma]

Unfortunately I've hit a snag - I discovered tonight that my third kihon (whassit called?) is craptacular. *whimper*

Arwen, if you are referring to the Tandoku Dosa, then it is called 'hikiotoshi uchi'.

To help, do you know the first two as Honte Uchi and Gyakute Uchi? If so then the above is correct; if not - it is not correct and i have no idea what you are on about.

And where is my Snotty,......weeps gently

[Newbie]

*hands Sats a hanky*

Grow up ya giant, shiney-headed pillock. BTW, ware the WWW. It's made its return. I'll blow me nose on ya prolly in the next couple days.

Yeah, I know honte and gyakute. It's all I've been doing for the last two weeks. Over and over and over and over again.

[pgsmith]

It's all in the attitude!

Thing is, we have a shodan for seitei jodo in Adelaide and that's it as far as I know so when you've got three senseis coming for a seminar that can grade people, you take the damn opportunity.

That is exactly correct. If you have three sensei coming in, you want to take advantage of any training from them you can get. Doing a grading is a golden opportunity to have all three watching you closely. They can give you a bunch of fantastic information on how you are moving and what you need to work on. Whether you pass or fail the grading is absolutely irrelevent. All you want to do is go out and do your best so that the sensei can all get a good look at just how you perform. At the after party (there should always be an after party!) make sure you buy the sensei drinks and ask for their honest evaluation. Good stuff to be had there man! Good luck with it.

[Maro]

Australia seems to be very lucky with the size of the Jodo Community here. I hope to join it in time

[Newbie]

We've only got three here now (including myself and one other guy who's ungraded at this point) that August has left.

Argh, last night's training was a right-off. After looking forward to Friday night training all week (can train till the cows come home and not have to worry about getting up for work the next day), I got a call from my sempai saying he'd slipped at work and screwed his already very dodgy knees. He had minimal mobility and had to work this morning (his job has him on his feet) so couldn't make it to training but kinda sorted out the hikiotoshi footwork over the phone. Not the best way of doing things but if he's better tomorrow we're gonna do some impromptu backyard training... though this weather bodes ill. But then, not long after starting, only about half an hour I started to feel really unwell so I sat down, made notes, watched kendo and timed jikeiko. Oh, and got a leg cramp in seiza. That's never happened to me before and my sodium levels should be fine, unless it was the cold from not moving about for a while. After they finished kendo myself and the other guy did some more jo but I went for less than an hour and only did honte and gyakute before my housemate came and picked me up. Today woke up feeling worse so no practise for me today, either. Dah. Head pounding. What a waste of a weekend that could've been spent training!

Ah well. Just have to go and watch Twilight Samurai instead.

Do you have the ZNKR jodo manual and video available in Adelaide?

Don't know. Have asked my sempai and I'll ask my other training partner. Between them they'll know if anyone here has it.

Don't know if there'll be an afterward drinking session - seminar's on Saturday and grading's on Sunday. Work the next day. Blah.

Australia seems to be very lucky with the size of the Jodo Community here. I hope to join it in time

Bugger that! Join it now! By the way, how many are there doing jo in Aus?

And Maro, do you know a girl called Melissa that does kendo and iaido? If so tell her Arwen says hi and ask her why she hasn't damn well emailed me yet.