Test: Success

Well, I've been a little busy lately.  Last week's post was a bit late.  And this week I haven't had time to really put something big up, but here's a little picture of what I've been up too:

If you ever wanted to know how to write my name in Japanese, it's the right-hand column.

This morning I took a test to get the 1-kyuu qualification, and I passed!  This is a picture of the certificate. 

My Japanese co-teacher (and also kendo coach) picked me up at eight this morning to drive me to the local junior high school (not the one where I work) where they were holding the exam.  Kids were there testing for 4 through 1 kyuu.  The youngest (trying for 4-kyuu) were in 1st grade, I'd guess.  The oldest were in 8th grade.  Well, actually I was the oldest.  You might think it would be awkward to stand out like that, taking the same test as a bunch of middle schoolers, but after being a foreigner in Japan for almost a year now, I'm used to standing out. 

After arriving and warming up they gave us a little workshop on how to do well on the test, what sort of things the judges would be looking for, etc.  Second came the test itself.  They started with the little kids and worked their way up to the 1-kyuu test.  We sat in the back and watched.  The 1st graders were so cute in their armor.  When our turn came we went up in three groups to take the test, ten at a time.  I was in the last group, so (even though I already knew what to expect) I got to see what the test actually looked like.  It was pretty quick: first you do an exercise called kirikaishi and they check your form; then you have two one-minute sessions of sparring; finally you have to go through some forms called kihon kata (here's a link if you want to see what that looks like).  After that they handed out the certificates (I'm pretty sure everyone passed).  To finish up the morning we had a chance to practice with all the instructors that attended the exam. 

If you still aren't really sure of what kendo is, here is a video of one of my students at the regional junior high school tournament last week.  He is the one with the red tag on his back in the video.  The highlight of the video comes at about 0:45 when he strikes his opponent's wrist (kote).  He did well enough to advance to the all prefecture tournament next month in the individual tournament!  Also, our team rocks and the boys took first place in one of the most exciting sporting matches I've ever witnessed.