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from the December, 2013 issue of Kiai!
Austin in November:
Black Belt Testing at TW Sister School Sun Dragon
By Senpai Amy Jones,
2nd Degree Black Belt
Austin Seido student Anja Gordon is tested for
Junior Black Belt by Jun Shihan Sarah.
—Jun Shihan Sarah Ludden
Senpai Amy Jones, a Seido 2nd degree black belt student who is originally from Austin but recently relocated to Chicago and joined our training community, returned home for this momentous occasion – an extremely heartwarming reunion to witness. Please enjoy her description of the black belt test:
“Can I be first?” said Coty, parent and board member, as she stepped outside the dojo into the warm November evening. “I want to be first.” With that, she enveloped me in a big hug, which I returned gratefully. That hug was followed by many more as I walked into the dojo on Friday night, November 15th. It was my first visit to Sun Dragon since May.
I trained at Sun Dragon from 2001 until January of 2013. It is, and ever will be, my home dojo, as much as I love Thousand Waves.
I was at Sun Dragon for a shodan test, conducted by Jun Shihan Sarah and Sensei/Senpai Joy Williamson (all of Sun Dragon will rejoice when Sensei Joy achieves her Yondan, and the rest of Seido starts calling her ‘Sensei,’ as we do). Testing was one adult, Carmel Drewes and two youth, Anja and Rosalinda (Rosa). I have a special connection to all three.
At Sun Dragon, I was a teacher in the youth class from 2005 until December 2012. I’ve known both Anja and Rosalinda since they were very small and very new. Both young women are talented karateka in their own right, and I was tremendously honored and grateful to witness their tests for junior shodan.
Since I have known her, Anja has learned new material almost instantly. During the test, Jun Shihan asked her if she ever got bored with karate, and she said no. I think all of her teachers were a little surprised at that, not because we think we’re boring, but because she typically learns her belt-level material during the first week after a promotion, and spends the rest of her training time honing it. She’s also the go-to student who knows our lineage, Japanese terms, and any other questions we can think to throw at her. She even memorizes her teachers’ birthdays (we do not quiz her on these, it’s an independent project of hers). Hopefully her junior shodan material will take her a little longer to learn. Anja’s whip-smart mind is challenged by a body that doesn’t always do as it’s told. Her determination and equanimity in the face of what must at times be a frustrating training experience is the embodiment of striving with patience.
Rosalinda is known at Sun Dragon for her deep stances and serious approach to her art. During the test, the candidates were doing techniques from horse stance. Rosa’s stance was already quite low, but when exhorted to lower it “an inch,” she lowered it at least 6 inches. The black belt audience, lined up against the mirrors, muttered in appreciation at her beautiful lines and at her strength and grace. As talented as she is, Rosa has historically struggled with test anxiety, and has been known to get a deer-in-the-headlights look on promotion day. We were all concerned that the stress of her junior shodan test would get to her. Imagine our delight when she showed up to the test cool, calm, and collected, and set a personal goal of “having fun” – and then met that goal, with no trace of anxiety throughout the 5-hour promotion!
Rosa and Anja are the second and third Seido Junior Shodans at Sun Dragon. The first was Senpai Leila, who is now an adult black belt. She was in attendance to cheer them on. Additionally, Sun Dragon has a tradition – you do not keep your belts, other than white belt, when you achieve a new rank at Sun Dragon, it goes back to the school to be passed down. Senpai Rosa now has Senpai Leila’s junior black belt, to the delight of both.
Left to Right: Senpai Joy Williamson (Sensei of Sundragon dojo), Anja Gordon, Carmel Drewes,
Rosalinda Jones and Jun Shihan Sarah Ludden.
Senpai Carmel Drewes, the adult who tested, is one of my dearest friends and favorite training partners (she is the only training partner I have ever gotten up to train with at 6 am). She is also my Kyokushin senior. The timeline works like this: In 2004, Carmel tested for black belt in Kyokushin, and I tested for brown belt. In 2006, Carmel moved to South Carolina. That same year, I earned a black belt in Kyokushin, the last Sun Dragon student to do so. In 2007, Sun Dragon affiliated with Seido. In 2010, Carmel moved back to Austin, and resumed training at Sun Dragon. Prior to affiliating with Seido, Sun Dragon did not have a very robust black belt curriculum, which meant it did not have great black belt retention. Additionally, Sun Dragon did not recognize dan ranks above shodan (these are related phenomena, of course). Thus, Carmel was one of the senior students when she left in 2006, only to return 4 years later and suddenly be one of the most junior students. Karate challenges us in many ways, but this particular ego challenge is not one that many of us have to face. It is to her credit that Carmel has continued to train, and that she re-attained her black belt rank at Sun Dragon. She is only the 6th Sun Dragon student to achieve black belt rank in both Kyokushin and Seido. I was impressed by Senpai Carmel’s strength and skill at her test. During her Kyokushin days, Carmel was a student who trained at least 4 days a week, and often more. Upon her return, however, she had a family – two delightful sons and a charming partner – as well as a new career. Carmel does not do anything halfway – she moved to South Carolina, had a child, and got a Master’s degree, all at once. Her considerable energy is, by necessity, no longer devoted 80% or more to her training. I would not have known that by watching her promotion, though. She seemed to me as strong a karateka in Seido as she had been in Kyokushin, despite her evolved life stage.
I went straight from the airport to Sun Dragon on Friday, and left Sun Dragon and went back to the airport on Sunday. It was a whirlwind trip, but I am very grateful to have made it; I got to see my Sun Dragon family, train with them, and witness the promotion of three people who I love dearly. It doesn’t get much better than that.