In my previous post 10 Lessons Learned Testing for Rank, I feel I left a few important points out so I am continuing where I left off with that list of 12.

13. Prepare for the Unexpected: Give yourself plenty of time to get there early. Sure enough the day of my test the road was blocked. Had I not given myself a spare 20 minutes to get there I would have been late and super frazzled. Not a good impression to make!

14. Avoiding Sudden Bouts of Amnesia: Know all current as well as previous material like the back of your hand! I can’t stress enough that when you are tired and/or nervous or a combination of both it is amazing how you can forget something you know. Any little doubt that creeps into your mind while performing something can suddenly become full blown amnesia! If you really know your stuff going into the test, even if you momentarily forget, you should be able to gather yourself enough and take some deep breaths to be able to remember. A tip: Forget your brain and let your body remember. If you have done it enough, you should be able to work your way through it.

15. Cramming Doesn’t Cut it-  You can’t cram for a martial arts test. Trying to cram just doesn’t work. Put in the time and effort before you are asked to test so when you go to prepare for your next promotion it is more of a review and refinement of what you already have learned.

16. Endurance Training - It is not enough to be able to execute techniques and forms when well rested. It is a whole different ball game trying to do these things when you are exhausted. Endurance training is critical but very hard for working folks to fit in.  When possible try training for 2-3 hour clips with short breaks to show your body you can go for longer periods.

Hopefully some of these will help some of you prepare for your next test or promotion in the martial arts. No doubt, there are countless other great tips out there.  Feel free to share yours!

Recently I tested for a new sash, or belt, as most schools call it. At my school you only test when asked and testing is the doorway to additional learning. New material is not presented to you in classes until you demonstrate a certain level of proficiency and understanding in the material previously taught. I like this approach a lot - it just makes good common sense.

After a test, there is always a gamut of emotions one can feel. Over the years, mine have ranged from a feeling of disappointment in myself for not doing as well as I felt I should from feeling fairly satisfied that I did as well as I was capable of doing. I always try to remember going into a test these two things:

1. Look at it as a Learning Opportunity
2. Don’t Focus on the Outcome of the Test - Do it for the Experience

Now that I think about it, that approach works for pretty much anything we strive for in life. Testing can be a chance for learning, not just about corrections on the material and execution itself, but a chance to learn more about yourself, how you approach things, react to the stresses and challenges of the test.

So I decided to make a list of the top 10 Lessons I learned when testing in the martial arts …

1. Eat Well and Drink Lots of Water Leading up to the Test – Obvious maybe but I think worth mentioning. No one does well dehydrated or hungry on a test but it is also important to be careful not to eat big meals a few hours before the test. I found even snacking on a banana during a break was too heavy for my sensitive stomach.
2. Pay Attention to your Breathing – Everyone is nervous before a test and often when you first get started. At least that is true for me. It is very obvious that when I’m nervous it impacts my balance, my fluidity and my endurance because my breathing is shallow. Knowing this now from previous experience, I focus on trying to breathe deeply before the test begins. Then, even if I’m nervous when starting, if I continue to focus on regulating my breath that very act seems to calm me down because I am thinking of my breathing instead of my nerves.
3. Comparing Yourself - There is almost always someone performs better than you at something (if not many things). It can be very hard but try not to compare yourself to others – it does not serve you. Unfavorably comparing yourself to others will not only erode your self confidence but will cause feelings of frustration. It can also unnerve you making your own performance less than what it ought to be.
4. More than What Meets the Eye - I learned this one after having the bad judgment to ask my teacher how we could perform well on long tests. He quickly set me straight telling me I don’t know what he looks for on a test. As students of the martial arts we tend to focus on the physical execution of techniques or forms but your teacher, if you are lucky to have such a teacher, is busy absorbing many things including your focus, etiquette, response to praise or criticism, reaction to getting “bested” in a sparring match, endurance, determination etc. Take a look yourself and such things and your test may reveal many more things about you than you realize.
5. Your daily practice habits leading up to your test is far more important than the test itself. Recently, I got a cold bucket of water thrown in my face. It became very clear leading up to the test and on the test itself that I had not practiced certain parts of my curriculum enough.
6. Use the test experience as a blue print for future training. Do all you can to absorb the corrections you receive along with assessing yourself – what did you do well and what could you have done better? Then make a plan to work on the things that you didn’t do well and then stick to the plan. Without a solid foundation the building will eventually fall.
7. If you make a mistake during the test, let it go and move on.  Beating yourself up will just distract you from what you should be doing in the present and likely lead to additional errors.
8. Controlling your emotions is every bit as important as controlling your body. Personally I try to take on a somewhat stoic demeanor during all of the physical parts of testing. I just find it easier to simply focus on the business at hand.
9. Don’t spend energy thinking of what is still to come on the test or how much longer it might be. For me, this can be one of the biggest dangers since, as we continue to advance, our tests can be very long. It will zap my energy if thinking “oh I won’t make it I still have xyz to do”. It can become a self fulfilling prophecy. Take it one step at a time. Your brain can convince you that you are ready to quit before you body really is done. In fact, I’ve heard telling yourself “I am strong” can prove helpful when feeling ready to give up (or fall down).
10. Don’t make excuses for yourself or to yourself. No one wants to hear it and it just makes you look bad. After all, if you can’t own what you did, then how can you fix it?
11. If you do really well on the test or get praised by your teacher don’t brag about it or preen. This also makes you look bad. Accept praise humbly and keep it in perspective.
12. Try to remember to have fun with the experience. It is not life or death. I find it helpful to go back to my reasons for wanting to practice in the first place and keep in mind it was never because I wanted to achieve a certain belt. As my teacher says, just practice… and the rest takes care of itself.

Ok, that was 12 but whose counting? Have any of your own testing for rank experiences you’d like to share?

The other day I was practicing in my town at a big football field near my house.  Generally speaking if I choose to practice there I am doing things that may look a bit peculiar at first but if someone watches for a bit they likely begin to realize I am practicing martial arts. Well, on this particular day, I brought a pole with me and I was circle walking doing 8 animals.  I was very focused on what I was doing and though part of me heard a man yelling, I completely ignored it and continued to practice.  It was only after the 3rd time of repeating what he said in an increasingly louder and angrier voice did it occur to me he was yelling profanities at me. Now, I won’t quite repeat what was being screamed at me but let’s just say it went something like “You f#@$% freak!” Now, this surprised me yet I had to laugh a bit to myself as I realized the poses I was in must have looked very odd.  I also at this point noticed that this “man” was probably late teens and was accompanied by several companions in his car which he apparently pulled over especially for me.  Wow, how flattering.

Honestly, I was ok with it as long as no one decided to get out of the car and get any closer.(I had quickly formulated a bit of a plan though just in case they did - but luckily they gave up on me and left after a bit).  Surely, my complete disregard to his obvious ire just riled him up some more but really! As I thought some more about what happened as I walked back to my car I was incredulous, not because he thought what I was doing was so strange (it does look odd and may have even mistook it for some form of worship) but regardless what should he care? Why so little tolerance of others?

We fear what we don’t understand I suppose. But that shouldn’t stop me. I’ll continue to go there and practice whenever I like. People need to become more tolerant of the differences between us.  Hiding what I love to do and need to practice won’t help that. Maybe, if my friend decides to stop by again in the future, and I am done practicing, I will walk over and try to have a civil conversation. Maybe at the end of it he will come to realize I was doing no harm and that his anger was misplaced. Maybe not….but without trying nothing changes.

Just recently I went on my 2nd Chi Kung, Meditation and Kung Fu retreat. Basically we packed lots of warm clothes and headed up to the Pocono mountains for a weekend.  Once there, we kept busy training, meditating, journaling and sitting in the woods to reconnect with nature.

Retreat View

There were points when we would spend time with others walking or sitting in meditation outside in complete silence. If you think about it, how often do people spend time together as a group without having the need to constantly be saying something. I found those moments to be a rare pleasure.

Knowing you are all there for a common purpose, sharing an experience without exchanging any words is a refreshing change from every day life. It was in those quiet moments when it felt like it was a true retreat experience for me – a chance to recharge. The unhurried pace, the utter lack of the usual demands and pressures. Even being told when to move on to the next thing meant leaving the worry about time and schedules to someone else. I got to just ‘be”. That was a gift.

Fully engaged with a heightened awareness is the only way to describe one particular experience I had on that retreat. I can’t get into the details unfortunately, but suffice it it say that it was an eye opening experience.

Happy Trails.