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from the July, 2014 issue of Kiai!

Black Belt Testing at Honbu:
A Lesson in Appreciation

 

By Senpai Carmina Andreuzzi
3rd Degree Black Belt

On June 5, 2014 eight Thousand Waves students went to New York City to be tested for their next black belt rank by Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura, the founder of Seido Karate, at Honbu (World Seido Karate headquarters) along with 18 other students. Hope Robinson, Kelly Coomer, Saul Friedman and Thomas Keene all tested for 2nd degree black belt. And Aileen Geary, Bill Sacco, Jordan Garcia, and myself, Carmina Andreuzzi, tested for 3rd degree black belt. I was asked to briefly share a few personal experiences that touched me during this time in New York.

This promotion was special in that it was the first time they were holding promotions on the main training floor at Honbu since its recent renovation. For many years, Honbu had occupied both the 2nd and 3rd floor of 61 West 23rd Street, in New York. They have since relinquished the 3rd floor and moved everything into the 2nd. Many people worked very hard to help renovate Honbu by doing construction and all sorts of work, and just in the nick of time for the black belt clinic and awesome grand re-opening celebration that followed. The lobby is much bigger than I remember it being, and Honbu no longer has its cool kitchen on the 3rd floor, but even with all the exciting changes going on, the well-loved shinzen stood the test of time and remains.

I would love to tell you all how we fared at our test, but since our eyes were closed for most of it, I really have no idea. We did manage to persevere until the end and I’m sure that for all, it was both a challenging and exciting experience.

As I write this, we are in the midst of our own Spirit Challenge week at Thousand Waves, so I can’t help but be reminded of one of the most fun and challenging things at Honbu – the pushups. You name it: knuckle pushups, fingertip pushups, ridge hand, koken (back of the wrist) pushups, single hand koken pushups, just on your pointer finger pushups. There is nothing more rewarding than a room full of people attempting what seems impossible, trying our best and having a good time.

But for me, one of my favorite parts about the test was the bowing. There were so many senior senpai to acknowledge during the bows. Many visitors had come from as far away as South Africa, Japan and Poland, not to mention all the visitors from different states in the US, including Austin, Texas. Having to bow to everyone gave us the opportunity to try and remember the names of the many, many people that were there. And it was the practice of bowing which had the most calming and centering effect for me during the test. It reminded me of the importance of being present. One of the things that Kaicho emphasized as being a major component of our test was greeting as many people as possible, taking the time to know everyone. It was a lovely experience, catching up with old acquaintances and making new friends. We were all sharing this special testing experience that Kaicho and Nidaime took the time to create for us, and were showing our appreciation by giving our full attention to one another.

Senpai Thomas, Hope and Saul were tested on kata at Honbu.

New Thousand Waves third-degree black belts, Senpai Bill, Jordan, Carmina and Aileen
await their turn for Kaicho to tie on their belts.

Kaicho talked about the importance of etiquette, that without etiquette or courtesy, a dojo simply cannot make it.  He also stressed the importance of teachers demonstrating respect in the way they teach, especially when teaching children. In doing so, students feel a part of the community, learn how to treat one another, and the dojo flourishes.

One idea that I have been working on in my own development is the idea that we become what we practice. Lucky for many of us, we get to practice Seido Karate. As I reflect on all that we practice in Seido, it is no wonder that Seido practitioners tend to grow into good human beings.

I imagine that one of the first and most important core skills that we get to practice in Seido, are manners. Not that we are indifferent or rude people, but that we might just come from a different culture. “How do you treat your guests?” asked Kaicho. “When it’s time for them to leave, do you just say, ‘Bye!’ and let them leave alone? Or do you say, ‘Thank you so much for coming.’ Do you walk them to your door, do you walk them to their car?” I think it is part of American culture to be more casual. There is sometimes a comfortableness or lack of formality that makes it ok to arrive at a party and not say hello, not introduce you self to everyone and then to not say good bye to everyone, and to just leave, or to just let your guest leave.

I am reminded that this is one of the things I like the most about Seido Karate. It is the going back to courtesy and etiquette. We take the time to thank Kaicho, the founder of Seido karate. We take the time to thank our teachers, and they take the time to thank the students. Not only that, but we practice taking the time to thank ourselves for our effort. What a good practice. Kaicho said, “Look at all these wonderful people, we don’t know how long we will be here. We just don’t know, maybe we are healthy and young, but we really don’t know. So take this moment to appreciate each other now – right now. Don’t wait until later, because later might be too late. Right now, be thankful. Be present. Make time right now to give the person in front of you your attention, your love, and your respect.”

The group from Chicago was made larger by all who traveled to New York to support
the test. Here they all are, with Kaicho and Nidaime.

So thank you, to every one!

I would especially like to say thank you, on behalf of all who tested, to all the people who helped us in our preparation for our test. Starting with Sei Shihan Nancy, Jun Shihan Sarah, Kyoshi Martha, all the wonderful Senpai and all the friends and family that touch our lives. A special thank you to Senpai Laura Hayden, and her partner Senpai KJ Scheib who tested along with their comrade Senpai Graham Smith, for securing last minute hotel accommodations after the condo rental in NY fell through!

Gassho!

Click here to see an official group portrait of the new 2nd and 3rd Degree Black Belts.

Click here to read excerpts from their promotion essays.