28/10/2019
Our annual BKJ Martial Arts Black Belt grading was conducted yesterday on Sunday 27/10/19 at the BKJ Martial Arts Centre in Roselands. We had 9 brown belts and 2 Black Belt 1st Degrees going for promotion. Such a big job but thanks to the assistance of my senior and dedicated Black Belts, John & Timothy Ellis and Peter Tziliaskopoulos who were there to give me a hand. Not to mention the very other enthusiastic black and brown belts who came along to assist and support their colleagues. Three students pulled out of the grading, a week earlier, saying they were not ready for it. I told them it was not up to them to decide that but me.
Unfortunately, one of our students tore a calf muscle towards the end of the grading and we had to pull him out. Another copped a good whack to the eye and two others needed their elbows strapped. One mother, who works with me, said today, "I have to check on my daughter every hour just to see if she is feeling OK." Many persons experienced muscle fatigue this morning which is not a bad thing anyway.
The grading took 2.5 hours which might not seem that long compared to some of the other schools but those 2.5 hours are not to be taken lightly because our students were vigorously tested and had to perform under extreme circumstances which shocked those who have never ever seen our Black Belt gradings before. In other words, 2.5 hours sprinting is a lot harder than 6 hours jogging. My intention is to make sure they understand what it is to get a Black Belt and whether they feel worthy of wearing it. One of the students is a mother, and after a recent injury, she just got cleared by her doctor last week to do the grading which shows real determination. One of the younger guys who went for his Black Belt made his Dad, Jim Hughes, feel proud yesterday; that father is a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Karate and a Brown Belt in Jiu-Jitsu too. All persons did so well and I can honestly say they are such beautiful people and I am happy to call each and every one of them, my friend.
Many complained of feeling disorientated but said how good they felt doing what they did and even felt better when I wrapped the black belt around each one of them. In Budoshinkai Karate-Jitsu (BKJ Martial Arts), the minimum age for black belt is 14 years. Any lower than that age, the black belt is more of a junior rank. Like many karate schools, we still maintain minimum age requirements for black belt similar to obtaining a driver's licence. The minimum age for Black Belt in Jiu-Jitsu and Judo is even higher.
As the Chief Instructor, I got to see the final product and all students performed far better than what I expected and I congratulate all those students who get to stand beside me at the end of each class. The Black Belt grading reminds me of what I have been doing over the last 45 years in Karate and how much I owe to Karate in many ways including getting me out of trouble on numerous occasions since High School. My Jiu-Jitsu instructor, Soke Richard Norton, also a very experienced and high ranking karate instructor, and I have always talked about never forgetting our roots in karate and our passion for it and the need to remind ourselves and others that we are not just Jiu-Jitsu instructors. The Black Belt grading reminded me of that again yesterday.
