I find writing down my thoughts helps to internalize things and get the most out of things like advice or observations. So, here is the first post in my run-up to testing for Ni-Dan later this year.
Internally we had an internal "mock" shinsa at out dojo to see who the instructors felt were ready to challenge for their respective Dan in either the upcoming video or in-person Shinsas.
My result? After a pretty good result in an earlier internal shinsa, I regressed a bit. I still got the green light to go forward with a few areas of note that I need to work on. Some from their perspective, some from my own, and some from a pair of guest instructors from the day of the mock shinsa that likely saved me from failing out completely.
I'll start with my own thoughts. I always need to work on rhythm and timing with a TACHI. I'm doing video shinsa, so that is less important to testing this time, but would be critical for any in-person shinsa. And beyond Ni-Dan all testing is in-person. Similarly is cues. During the internal shinsa I performed my YU before the last shot was fired. I was OMAE and this had the potential to mess with my TACHI, but thankfully I'm the only one who screwed up.
Also, the rhythm note is applicable even to the HASSETSU. But that is tied to my instructor feedback.
The guest instructors pointed out my common tendency to lean to right when drawing. I got this feedback in the morning before the internal shinsa and it didn't re-appear in my critique. So I think that I was able to incorporate their feedback, which helped. During DAISAN I should be thinking of it as the YUNDE being where all the power goes.
And lastly, the biggest piece of advice comes from my dojo's instructors. And that is that I make too many adjustments during the performance. This is a common complaint, but I think it has gotten worse over time. In trying to maximize practice time, I often adjust what I can throughout the process. But this trains me to do this all of the time.
Rather than making adjustments during the HASSETSU or other parts of the TAIHAI I should instead think on what I need to do next, and when I start moving, move ONLY toward that objective. If I make a mistake, I should note it rather than attempt a correction and see how to fix it next time.
Also, they noted that my rhythm was very... compartmental, I suppose. That I break up the steps too much and it doesn't feel like one complete performance. I think this is partly due to the focus on adjustments. It may not account for everything, but I know that I'll adjust and then, when I'm sure everything is good, move onto the next step. Which sounds like it sums up the criticism I was getting there.
While all of the feedback is good and valid for me. It is that piece about the adjustments that I think is most important. I overlooked it in the past because it was often referred to as "fidgeting". I'm amazed at how slow my brain is in some respects. Simply labeling it as "adjustments" instead had a profound impact on how I perceived what I was doing and what I could do to fix it. And it suddenly dawned on me how deeply this was ingrained in my practice.
Personally, I would have failed me for the Ni-Dan shinsa. It isn't that I don't think I can pass it. More that I genuinely do not feel that I showed that I could in the most recent internal shinsa.
And, honestly, I said I was interested not because I wanted to test to Ni-Dan, but rather because I wanted to be evaluated in that capacity. I care more about measuring my progress than passing arbitrary landmarks. In this case, I feel that my results in the 2 internal shinsas show inconsistency. Even if I showed during my first shinsa that I have the capacity at times, the second shinsa shows that it isn't currently a normal factor in my personal kyudo yet.
Since I received approval however, I will go ahead. As I said, I want that chance to see if I have improved enough. So if they will allow me to take that chance, I will.
Comments
Post a Comment