One Day, One Lifetime and Ten New Black Belts!

from the June, 2009 issue of Kiai!

by Caroline Guindon

“We all stumbled over Thousand Waves”.
Vasilios Kouis, adult Shodan

We all have a story of how, when and perhaps even why Thousand Waves became a part of our lives; all of us who train or support others who do, remember the circumstances that made it happen. Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there are many people like Clara L.-G. who first entered Thousand Waves in utero or in stroller and thus will never remember getting there for the first time. I know about Clara’s first visit because I was 8 ½ months pregnant at the time; we were there for Jacob, her then almost 6 year old brother who was a shy klutzy boy just about to become a big brother for the second time. I felt sorry for the little fellow. I wanted him to have something that was just his… Why not karate? Maybe he’d always be a klutz but at least he’d have an interesting activity away from the babies, just for himself…

That’s our story. That’s the story of how we got here the first day. Yours is different. Probably more interesting, too…

The much more important story though —and I know it’s just as true of all of us who make Thousand Waves a part of our lives as it is true of my own little family unit— is the story of how and why we all stayed. Like a long novel, these stories are composed of many chapters. We can’t retell them in just a few phrases. They are made of the (extra)ordinary events of our daily lives, the quotidian struggles and joys we face as we try to balance it all, try to make it to 1220 West Belmont but also, to the end of each day.

Twice a year, we have a chance to come together and spend a day hearing those stories, watching them unfold in action. I love a good novel and that’s why I love black belt tests. They’re an abridged version of the story of those who stayed until they were invited for this test, this rite of passage. They are the stories of ordinary heroes, stories that never disappoint, always different yet filled with the same basic ingredients: the sweat and the focus and the commitment and the courage and the love and the dedication and the good sense of humor one needs to make it all the way to the day of this test and then, once there, to make it all the way to the end of the test…

“A black belt test is a review of the alphabet; after that, you can start writing words.”
Sarah Kranz, Adult Shodan

On April 18th 2009, two Black Belt tests were held at Thousand Waves. As has become customary over the years, the youths and teens who had been invited to test did so in the morning followed by the adults’ test in the afternoon.

I was lucky to be there for both —though I did miss the early part of the adult test. I love Black Belt tests! (Did I say that already?) I find them both very exciting and very moving. I like the high intensity (the crisp, dry sound of a board breaking) and the high drama (the sweat, the tears, the final exhausted hug to the opponent at the end of the last round of sparring…) I also love the little pearls of wisdom that come out of the mouths of Jun Shihan Nancy, Kyoshi Sarah and, of course, the candidates themselves who, through these three or four grueling hours of mental and physical work manage to keep their poise and even their sense of humor!

Here’s a summary of a long day, in case you missed it:

The kids’ test was somewhat unusual in that there were two levels of Black Belt being represented. As Thousand Waves, kids’ programs have developed and thrived so much in the past few years that there are more and more eleven and twelve year olds who are mature enough and have been training diligently for enough years to be invited to test for Junior Shodan, aka Junior Black Belt. After a few years of more diligent training, some of those kids, now teens, have grown so much as people and as karate-kas that they are ready to face a new challenge. Teens join the adult program at Thousand Waves only after their 15th birthday and it is for the diligently-training-yet-not-quite-fifteen-year-old Junior Shodans that Thousand Waves started awarding a second degree Junior Black Belt or Junior Nidan. On April 18th, there were five kids testing for Junior Shodan and two others testing for Junior Nidan. It was only the second time in the history of our dojo that this rank was awarded.

The seven beautiful kids and their families arrived bright and early to the dojo. We were all greeted by members of the Thousand Waves family, Jun Shihan Nancy and Kyoshi Sarah, and other dedicated teachers, joined also by friends, proud grandparents from here and from out of town, and, of course, fellow karate-kas, who had woken up early to share this special day with us. Lots of digital cameras. Lots of energy. A few lit candles to convey a sense of calm and solemnity to this rite of passage… And seven girls and boys wearing their white belts, a reminder of the open mind of the beginner, a reminder that they are all still beginners… at least for a few more hours. Testing for Junior Shodan were: Avery S. (14), Emily P. (13), Julian E. (13), Maddie P. (13) and Raphaël L.-G. (11). Testing for Junior Nidan were two 14 year olds, both named Jacob, both wearing a pony tail and a bandana: Jacob L.-G., and Jacob T.

The kids were asked almost from the get go to move, to kick, to punch and to do all that both with control and energy. It took a little time for all of them to realize that one is expected to kick and punch with a very special kind of intensity when one is testing for Black Belt. A just “good enough” kick or punch won’t do on that day… I particularly enjoyed the challenge they all faced of reacting to an “intensity” prompt from Jun Shihan Nancy: for a set of hand and then, foot techniques done on a thick target pad, each candidate had to punch or kick with either an intensity of 1 (no contact), 2 (medium contact) or 3 (maximum strength). I liked the sound of the kids hands or feet on the thick blue pad after having been prompted to throw a “three”! Like very loud drums…

“I loved being an obstacle in the obstacle course for the candidates;
mostly though, I’m happy that no one jumped on my head.”
Clara L.-G., 8 years old, advanced yellow belt

The oral part came after quite a bit of action on the floor and I suspect all candidates were happy to be able to catch their breaths for a moment. The oral part is never a picnic though because a karate-ka must also be able to explain how she uses her skills as a peace maker, someone who both stands up for others and for herself while making sure situations remain safe. Even for us grown-ups, these are extremely difficult skills to master. Difficult but extremely important: almost all the kids had anecdotes of bullying to share.

I know that for many black belt candidates, the black belt test is a whole lot about breaking a board for the first time. Seeing the kids break is indeed always a very thrilling part of the test. I suspect that a few of them thought it was going to be relatively easy: it sure looks easy enough when others do it… After an unsuccessful first try, Jun Shihan asked Emily what kind of strength she thought she’d have to use to go through the board. Referring back to a previous exercise, Emily answered: “A three?” And before we were finished laughing at her comment, she had broken her board!
Kata is my favorite part of karate, the closest thing to dancing this martial art has to offer. There was at times something polyphonic about the way the seven candidates performed their kata: instead of doing the same kata at the same time, they each were assigned a series of kata to perform but each series had a different order. A beautiful chorus of kata rounded out with the Jacobs performing a few harder and longer ones on their own while the others watched. What grace!

As always, sparring happened at the very end and, to use a nice American colloquialism, this is where the rubber meets the road. Candidates have to be the most alert, the most energetic, at the moment they are most exhausted. I like to think that our cheering and clapping gave students the little bit of strength they needed to not give up, to not collapse…

Then came the end; we sat, we reflected, we listened to what is still to come. I always find it hard at that point (whether or not some of the children testing are mine) not to be moved to tears by the grace and generosity of those teachers who challenge them, who love them… Oh and the joy we feel as we hear the snap of the stiff black belts above the head of the newest crop of Junior Shodans and Nidans before these new belts are wrapped around their waists… Gassho, deepest appreciation, to these exceptional teachers and to the children who strived with patience on that April morning!

“Three days before the test, I put my mind and spirit behind a single objective – to embrace
every moment of the test and to enjoy this experience of a lifetime. I carried that intent with me
from the moment the test began to the final punch.”
Pamela Robert, adult Shodan

While we were feeding those hungry kids after their test, Pamela Robert, Vasilios Kouis (also known as Bill by most of us) and Ethan M. were starting their tests. Only Ethan was young enough (16) to have grandparents there cheering for him. But the adults, both of them 54 years old, came with at least as extended a group of loved ones to cheer them on. It takes a village… to make a black belt.

What these villages make when they make a black belt is on full display during a test, especially an adult one. There is, of course, the physical and mental prowess and endurance and the mastery of a large body of material: techniques, skills, moves and choreographies. But perhaps more striking, and always made explicit in the course of a test by Jun Shihan Nancy and Kyoshi Sarah is that a black belt must demonstrate and embody a wider view of their practice, an understanding of how what they can do on the training floor is informed by and informs their life. It isn’t just that they can reflect on such questions in their required essays, or talk about them during the oral parts of the test, but that these spiritual and self-reflective moments become literally embodied in the physical aspects of their karate, whether in their interpretation of a favorite kata or in the kiai (yell of spirit) that follows the most basic techniques. In a black belt test, it isn’t enough to produce a perfectly formed round-house or side kick; it has to be aimed somewhere, do something, even if at the vulnerabilities of an imaginary opponent.

The adult test started like the kids’ had: eyes closed, candidates had to demonstrate stances that were being named in Japanese only. Many tests start like that —note to all the advanced brown belts out there! This was followed by more review of basic strikes until the candidates were moving in more and more complex series of stances and kicking combinations. The test became even more physically challenging when heavy bags and jumping ropes were added to the mix. And there were still several hours to go…

“My worst fear did materialize. I had been worried for weeks before the test about passing out,
and about half-way through the test, it actually happened. I’d never been so scared about my
health since I had pneumonia in the 5th grade…”
Ethan M., Adult Shodan

Karate is not just any sport: it is a mind-body practice that has the power both to heal and soothe and to bring up deep fears and demons to the surface. For Ethan, the test was both a moment where the fears and apprehensions took over his physical wellbeing and, with good coaching and under attentive supervision, a time when he was able to use his mind to control his body and come back to the floor… just in time for breaking.

The breaking of boards was followed by a section devoted to self-defense. From verbal boundary setting skills to complex unlocking of grabs, Pamela, Bill and Ethan demonstrated how they had learned over their years of training to go from a basic set of principles to their applications in “real life” situations. Thousand Waves karate training includes a large self-defense component, and these drills allowed the candidates to demonstrate another aspect of their internalization of their training. It isn’t enough to make your gi (karate uniform) snap with the power of your punch if you couldn’t aim it effectively and whole-heartedly at an attacker.

After a discussion of the candidates’ deep and rich and moving essays, it was time for kata. To most people watching these beautiful choreographies (some of them very ancient, some of them created by the founder of our art, Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura), kata look so much like art, like dancing that it is easy to forget how much control, how much strength, how much constant focus on breathing they require… Anyone who has ever learned a musical instrument will also recognize in the three stages of learning a kata something that parallels the experience of mastering a piece of classical music: first, a kata must be memorized; then, it must be polished; finally, a karate-ka must make it her own… Pamela, Bill and Ethan treated us to a nice concert of kata, sometimes performing the same ones together and, like the kids in the morning, performing in the end the same set of kata but each candidate doing them in a different order…

After the classical music of kata, came the jazz of sparring: improvisations within the boundaries of set compositional rules. Watching them still so light on their feet, so present, so intense, you’d never have known Pamela and Vasilios are over fifty. The cheers grew louder, the opponents more intense as one round followed another building to the final celebratory bell ring that brought the last round, and the day of testing to an end.

Well, almost. After the final formal ceremonies, the snapping of the new black belts and the announcements of invitations for the next test, came the traditional celebratory dinner: about fifty members of the Thousand Waves community took over about half of the local Giordano’s and re-affirmed another lasting truth: it takes a village to feed a black belt, too.

“… and it is that night, at Giordano’s that I discovered I could shoot spaghetti out of my fingertips.”
“Ethan, you’re an ADULT Shodan now!”