Our Experience at Honbu

from the April, 2009 issue of Kiai!

by Sensei Martha Thompson

Testing Group with Kaicho Thousand Waves has five new Sensei: Sally Alatalo, Triston Alvarez, Debbie Gould, Wai-Kwong Kwok, and Martha Thompson. Our test at Honbu was over a five-day period, ending with an overnight test which lasted from 5:30 pm – 6:30 am. Read more about our preparation and the themes that emerged during our test: beginners’ mind, keep it simple, expect nothing but ready for anything, and giving support.

In January 2009, Jun Shihan Nancy and Kyoshi Sarah invited Sally Alatalo, Triston Alvarez, Debbie Gould, Wai-Kwong Kwok, and Martha Thompson to test for rank advancement to yondan (4th degree black belt). We said yes to the challenge and began the journey of deepening our understanding of the curriculum material we are responsible for at Sandan: 25 kata (including 3 bo katas), 46 bo and jo sequences, and 72 empty-hand sequences, including self-defenses, yonjugodo kiba dachi, seido strategies, kihon kumite, yakusoku kumite, taisabaki, and black belt punch/kick combination.

The test itself was over a five-day period at Honbu, ending with an overnight test that lasted from 5:30 pm Saturday until 6:30 am Sunday. This time period included dinner, breakfast, and a one-hour break from 1:30-2:30 am, during which some of us were able to catch a few minutes of sleep before the lights came on and Kaicho called out that we had 10 minutes to be back on the floor with our sparring gear on. Not unexpected but still greatly appreciated, Kaicho and Nidaime put so much into the test and, no doubt, got even less sleep than we did.

Twenty-nine people attained a new rank advancement, including Shuseki Shihan Chris Caile and William Best. Of the remaining 27, two tested for Jun Shihan; five for Kyoshi, and twenty for yondan. Five of the 29 were from Australia, Israel, and Italy; 18 from Honbu; one from Buffalo; and five from Chicago.

Read below about our preparation and the themes that emerged over the course of the five days: beginners’ mind, keep it simple, expect nothing ready for anything, and giving support.

Preparation
In addition to training in class and individual training outside of class, the five of us met on Sunday mornings for two months prior to our test. We received so much support from each other as well as from Jun Shihan Nancy, Kyoshi Sarah, and the Thousand Waves community. Sally describes the support she received:

I was the beneficiary of much love and support in preparation for my test. I particularly remember a Wednesday evening class in which Jun Shihan Nancy put me in the middle of a circle and asked each of my otogai to do a different partner exercise with me. Afterwards, Jun Shihon asked the group to volunteer comments about my strengths. The kindness and generosity expressed by everyone renewed my sense of how special the Thousand Waves community is.

For the month prior to leaving for New York, we wore our white belts and some of us took white belt classes. Debbie expresses her perspective in those final training days:

In these last few days of training, in the mindset of being a white belt once again, I feel myself opening up to the test, opening up to being in a situation of unknowingness, where I have little sense of what to expect. I'm looking forward to being surprised by my rank mates and Kaicho, and to surprising myself. I'm also feeling attuned to Seido karate as an art, inspired by those who have created it, and immense appreciation toward all of my teachers and otagai who continually work, struggle, engage with this mind/body/spirit practice.

Testing Period
Beginners Mind
Wednesday April 1 was our first day at Honbu. Even with canceled flights, four of us were able to arrive in time for the 12:30 class for color belts and white belts. After warm-ups led by Kaicho and Nidaime, we had the opportunity to take a white belt class taught by Jun Shihan Walter. Thursday and Friday we took Nidaime’s white belt classes. During these white belt classes, we participated in vigorous conditioning and basics practice (strikes, blocks, kicks, and stances) and were often asked to demonstrate our knowledge of Japanese terminology. Jun Shihan Walter and Nidaime offered us nuance and detail. Basics were also an important part of our overnight test, deepening our appreciation for the grounding in basics that is such an important part of our Seido training at Thousand Waves. Wai explains how beginner’s mind helped him with the test:

My goal going into the test was to enjoy the test and learn from the experience. What allowed me to enjoy the test was the balance between my confidence that I knew my material and my acceptance of the fact that I would make mistakes during the test. This balance helped me to be ready to respond to whatever was thrown at us during the test by keeping an open mind. (Of course, knowing Japanese didn’t hurt!)

Keep it simple
We took the Thursday evening and Friday afternoon meditation classes with Kaicho where he focused on zazen (sitting meditation) and the importance of keeping it simple. Wai offers his summary of the meditation:

The meditation class reinforced the importance of being in the moment. Kaicho focused on Za Zen, interpreting the Japanese characters to explore the notion of taking the larger inner view of oneself with simplicity.

During the overnight portion of the test, we each presented our essay and the idea of keeping it simple arose again. Since there were so many of us, we presented in 3 different groups. Kaicho was clear that his expectation was for us to say what was in our heart and not to try to impress others. Triston reflects on what saying what was in our hearts meant to him.

The overnight test was a lot of fun, but my favorite part was the people I got to share the experience with. Although there were almost 30 of us, by the end we all felt like a close knit group. There were people in our test that I've known for many years, people who I only knew of, and many people I've never met. Hearing their stories, and training with them intensely truly deepened my understanding of the effect this practice can have on a person's life and the profound effect it has had on my life.

Sunday morning we did a sitting meditation, another opportunity to apply the lessons of keeping it simple and connecting with our inner selves as our test drew to a close.

Expect nothing, but be ready for anything
Wednesday evening we attended the senior kata classes (sandan and above followed by shodan and above), expecting two hours of training with seniors at Honbu and others from out-of-town. The sandan and above class started with advanced combinations for about one-half hour and then to our surprise, the five of us, two from Italy, and one from a New York branch were called to stay standing while everyone else sat down. After we each briefly introduced ourselves, Kaicho ran an energetic session that lasted for about 1 ½ hours where we were asked to demonstrate stances, self-defenses, kata, and much of our bo and jo work. He set many challenges for us, often two or more challenges simultaneously: eyes closed, left punch coming, starting with defense in partner exercises, doing katas ura or in an atypical direction (e.g. Bo Chion hidari hajime), and asked us to explain what we were doing and why. The Chicago Five (as others nicknamed us) knew our material and responded confidently to each challenge. Because we were well-prepared, even when we made mistakes we were able to rebound quickly and confidently. Sally’s words captured our shared feeling of preparation and support:

My preparation at Thousand Waves and the many kind words I received before I left for New York resonated with me during the most difficult moments of my test.

Although we had not expected to be tested on Wednesday evening, we rose to the occasion and received many positive comments from on-lookers. Other seniors expressed their relief that they had not been challenged to demonstrate so much material in such a short time. As one Sei Shihan commented, “I was so glad it was you out there instead of me.”

We knew that the overnight test would require us to face the unexpected. We were given no schedule, calling for us to expect nothing, but to be ready for anything. Interspersed with essay presentations, we covered basics, kihons, kata, yakusokus, self-defenses, and bo/jo work. We were again presented with the twists and turns we had faced on Wednesday evening with the added challenge of fatigue and not knowing when we would be able to rest. As Wai explains even at its most intense, there were lighthearted moments during the test:

At some point in our test, when we were holding our stances with our eyes closed, I ‘felt’ Kaicho walking around taking pictures as I heard the click and felt the momentary flash of the camera. This Kodak moment in the midst of a ‘serious’ exam also provided the element of ‘fun’ which was reassuring and helped me to maintain balance.

Giving support
An important part of our time at Honbu involved giving support and assistance to others who were testing, not only at our rank, but at other ranks. Friday evening we offered our support to the nidans and sandans in the final stages of their tests; Saturday afternoon, we were there to support those testing for junior shodan; and finally on Sunday morning, we assisted with the sparring portion of the shodan test. At different times throughout the five days, we met with people at our rank and higher to train together in preparation for the overnight test.

Throughout the testing period, the Chicago Five supported each other. We often started and ended our days with a shared meal and conversation about what was to come or debriefing about the day. For our last meal together before returning to Chicago, Kathy Strandburg and Ari and Danielle Strandburg –Peshkin joined us for brunch. They gave us each a celebratory card with funny stickers and puns and enveloped us with their support and compassion. Our dynamic conversation punctuated with laughter, tears, thoughtful analysis, and downright silliness was a fitting closing to our shared time together.

Sally’s words capture the feeling we brought back to Chicago: “I am so happy to be home, and am honored to be able to continue to train with everyone.”