Not ready for this

[snoack]

I had my black belt pretest this past Saturday, and I am in no way, shape, or manner ready for this test-

I have concerns about my conditioning

I have too many holes in my techniques

I'm still nowhere near where I need to be with my current form

I've reaggravated a toe injury I sustained back in April, and it's barking pretty bad right now.

I have 28 classes in at my current belt over a 4 month period. The time between sr. brown and black is typically 1 year in my system.

I don't think testing right now is a good idea because I'm just not confident enough in myself. If I'm comfortable that I'm ready, I know that I could still fail. However, if I'm NOT comfortable that I'm ready, it will show in my attitude and I WILL fail.

I'm going to talk to my instructor tomorrow at class, but I just don't see it happening right now.

 

[kenpofighter]

That's what I would do. I was tested before I felt like I was ready one time, which made that belt level really hard for me the rest of the way. I believe that the student must feel ready when testing for black. If he doesn't feel ready than it should be the instructor's job to make him feel ready.

 

[Kacey]

Talk to your instructor - s/he's the only one who can really give you an answer as to why you are being told to test now instead of later.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

 

[chinto01]

Was it your choice to take the pretest or our instructors? I would not be discouraged by the results I would use this as a gauge to see where you are and work from there. At least it was not the real test where this happened. Stand back take a deep breath and relax it will come in time. Remember it is not the destination but the journey that counts.

In the spirit of bushido!

Rob

 

[snoack]

Was it your choice to take the pretest or our instructors? I would not be discouraged by the results I would use this as a gauge to see where you are and work from there. At least it was not the real test where this happened. Stand back take a deep breath and relax it will come in time. Remember it is not the destination but the journey that counts.

In the spirit of bushido!

Rob

First, thanks everybody for your support. Just waht I'm seeing here tells me that my instincts are correct.

We've had a prep course that we've taken part in over the last 6 weeks. It was my insturctor's idea for me to take part in this, not mine. I became a sr. bown in March, and at that time anticipated and end of year exam for black belt. The other sr. browns taking part in this course have all been at their rank for approximately a year, longer in one case. They're teenagers, so I can understand it taking them longer as they don't possess the same level of discipline and committment.

Like I told a friend in another forum, I don't want to be rushed. I want to go into this with the feeling in my mind that I'm as prepared as I can be, and let the chips fall where they may with me giving my best effort. Right now, that just isn't the case.

 

[jkembry]

First of all, I am nowhere near your level...and figure I have years to go to get to that point. For me, on each of the kyu levels I have tested for, I have trusted Sensei to know when I was ready....and I have noticed that once the test had started, I seemed to be able to shake the nerves and do what I needed to do.

I have seen others tell him they didn't think they were ready, and they would work and wait until the next test. I am sure he would do the same for me.

I have noticed that the higher I go...the less confident that I feel...perhaps that is because I am more aware of how I am doing than I once was. That's a good thing I suppose....and lets not forget those days that things just don't go together well.

I plan on keeping going until....well I either can't physically or I am dead...regardless of the belt I wear.

 

[terryl965]

All one can do is talk to there instructor go over there fellings and go from there. Best of luck to you.

 

[snoack]

First of all, I am nowhere near your level...and figure I have years to go to get to that point. For me, on each of the kyu levels I have tested for, I have trusted Sensei to know when I was ready....and I have noticed that once the test had started, I seemed to be able to shake the nerves and do what I needed to do.

I have seen others tell him they didn't think they were ready, and they would work and wait until the next test. I am sure he would do the same for me.

I have noticed that the higher I go...the less confident that I feel...perhaps that is because I am more aware of how I am doing than I once was. That's a good thing I suppose....and lets not forget those days that things just don't go together well.

I plan on keeping going until....well I either can't physically or I am dead...regardless of the belt I wear.

I appreciate your feedback.

As an adult student, one of the things that you will discover as you advance through belt ranks is that you have the ability to honestly assess where you are in your training. I know where I am, and, after doing the prep work, I know where I need to be. There is a sizeable gap between those 2 locations, one that a couple weeks of training and practice will not bridge.

 

[snoack]

All one can do is talk to there instructor go over there fellings and go from there. Best of luck to you.

Let me ask you this-

if you were an instructor, and had a student come to you and tell you that, after doing a series of preparation classes designed to check their level of preparedness and culminating in a pretest, that they didn't feel that they were ready based on the reasons I gave in the first post, what do you think your response would be?

 

[terryl965]

Let me ask you this-

if you were an instructor, and had a student come to you and tell you that, after doing a series of preparation classes designed to check their level of preparedness and culminating in a pretest, that they didn't feel that they were ready based on the reasons I gave in the first post, what do you think your response would be?

I would do like I always have done sit down go over all the pro's and con's about your training where I see you at and where you believe you are at. Then I would say this so the main problem is self confidence in your own abilities at this point in your training, so and if your answer was yes, then I would say you are absolutely right and we will come back to you on the next cycle. Because I cannot go out there and do it for you and you need to have more time to believe in yourself and the ability to believe in what I have tought you. But this is how I would handle it, other would say do as your instructor says and do not question, I have an open door policy about anything at my school.

 

[snoack]

I would do like I always have done sit down go over all the pro's and con's about your training where I see you at and where you believe you are at. Then I would say this so the main problem is self confidence in your own abilities at this point in your training, so and if your answer was yes, then I would say you are absolutely right and we will come back to you on the next cycle. Because I cannot go out there and do it for you and you need to have more time to believe in yourself and the ability to believe in what I have tought you. But this is how I would handle it, other would say do as your instructor says and do not question, I have an open door policy about anything at my school.

That helps a lot. I've always had an excellent relationship with my instructor, and he has many times held me up to the entire school as an example of somebody who is disciplined and dedicated.

 

[MJS]

I had my black belt pretest this past Saturday, and I am in no way, shape, or manner ready for this test-

I have concerns about my conditioning

I have too many holes in my techniques

I'm still nowhere near where I need to be with my current form

I've reaggravated a toe injury I sustained back in April, and it's barking pretty bad right now.

I have 28 classes in at my current belt over a 4 month period. The time between sr. brown and black is typically 1 year in my system.

I don't think testing right now is a good idea because I'm just not confident enough in myself. If I'm comfortable that I'm ready, I know that I could still fail. However, if I'm NOT comfortable that I'm ready, it will show in my attitude and I WILL fail.

I'm going to talk to my instructor tomorrow at class, but I just don't see it happening right now.

If you dont feel ready, I wouldnt test. I know you said that you were going to talk with your instructor about this, but what are his thoughts on you testing? I mean, he must have felt that you were ready right? Did he notice any of your concerns before suggesting you test?

 

[stickarts]

You are definately on the right track about talking to your instructor. If you still feel the same way after the discussion, maybe you can push back the test date a few months? If you just had a few mild concerns that would be one thing, but it sounds like you are dead set against it so perhaps waiting is better. you need to feel good about the test. As I mentioned though, see how you feel after the discussion.

 

[arnisador]

It wouldn't do any good to get the black belt and still not have sufficient confidence in yourself. After all, it's just a belt. Everyone has some nerves and mdoesty, but if it's more than just that, I'd say hold off a bit.

 

[Hyper_Shadow]

I had my black belt pretest this past Saturday, and I am in no way, shape, or manner ready for this test-

I have concerns about my conditioning

I have too many holes in my techniques

I'm still nowhere near where I need to be with my current form

I've reaggravated a toe injury I sustained back in April, and it's barking pretty bad right now.

I've gotten past my dan grading and I still caryy those concerns now (even an aggravated toe...I took out an ingrowing toenail last week.) Don't worry about it. You wouldn't be where you are now if you hadn't earned it (I would hope) so go for it, it's not like you got anything to lose.

 

[snoack]

It wouldn't do any good to get the black belt and still not have sufficient confidence in yourself. After all, it's just a belt. Everyone has some nerves and mdoesty, but if it's more than just that, I'd say hold off a bit.

and that's just it, it's more then just nerves. When you get to this stage, control and self-awareness should be big parts of what define you as a martial artist. I'm very aware of where I am, and it isn't anywhere close to where I need to be.

 

[JustAVisitor]

Talk to your instructor and go through what s/he thinks are your strenghts and your weaknesses (not necessarily the same than the ones you perceive). Work out what s/he asks you to. Maybe that there is a huge difference between what you expect from a black belt and what is expected of a black-belt-to-become.
So, figure out what the gap is between 'how' you want to be and what your instructor really expects. And do what you have to do, instead of what you think would be ideal. Do not let your ego get in the way.

Do you know what happens when you have to much time to do a job? The job is overdone. Something as satisfying could have been produced in much lesser time... and you could have worked on something else.

PS: for toe injuries, i have some good tips to share. if you are interested, private message me.

 

[hogstooth]

A pre test serves a couple of purposes. It lets the student know what they will be expected to know and perform on the day of testing. It allows the instructor to pre examine the candidate to make sure s/he is capable of testing for that rank and it allows the student to self diagnos his skill and capabilities or the lacck there of.
If you do not feel you are at this level then ask your instructor why he feels you are. He may just be using this as a way to assess your skill and knowledge or he may see something in you that leads him to believe you have advanced past the present rank you are in. You said the other students are younger. Maybe he feels with your experience, commitment and determination, if he pushes you you will perform up to that level.
You have nothing to fear but fear itself. Go for it. If you fail you have a leg up for the next time you test. If you pass then your instructor knows something about you that you may not know. Put your heart and soul into it and try it.

 

[tshadowchaser]

That was excellant advice