Congratulations man! I'll probably be getting mine in, oh, maybe three years from now. Or four. Or five, or six, or seven....
I find that a bit hard to believe... your either not taking test or, see it the way I do... Why bother paying for belt when you dont have too.. Im sure you could compete for free... And achieve it.. Well................ No you must work on Second degreee....... nidan and so on...... Great job.... Dont let it go to your head though, since Ive seen some palm waxing in the martial arts industry.... Sure you get black belt... If you have to keep investing money to earn then its another Racket.... daniel son... I have belt tooo... Canvas.. Jc penny.. LOL. You should of been prepaired for that.... keep your eyes on opponent.. no joke.
I'm currently 4th kyu and I'll be testing for 3rd kyu in September. But Aikido rank testing is only once a year. So provided I pass every single test the earliest I'll make first dan is 2011. Which doesn't really bother me. The belt itself is just something to hold my jacket closed. It's the learning and experience that goes with it. Oh yeah? Well mine's leather with a large metal buckle.
^thats about the impression I got from you, am other post you made. I recieved my Black belt in Taekwondo Sensei CS Kim. < but hes a clown.. LOL. when I was in my twentys.. But that was too the most popular martial arts when I was a kid.. I dont know if Akido is more disiplined in your neck of the woods haha Im sure it is.... But I studied this and that.. Brought the taekwondo skills I had to Akido, while in the service and then some after. senci Jim greerr. ? Is not even in business anymore.. I need more disipline... Seriously, But its because of my other activities.. I think now I might have more time and stuff.. no GF. time to work on self again. Once I get some of my agility back and less idle workouts.. I might check out some Akido instructors where I live. See if I can progress..But still money is the issue. been a while since I know what was really going on in the martial arts world. Was there some changes in WTF. I know that the orginazation didnt matter if you were a member and you could compete and take exams.. I dont know has me wondering now how much fees have went up... And any martial arts takes up all your time.. Self study with a good partner or two saves a whole lot of cash... imo..
Aikido here can be expensive, especially when you get to be black belt. All those fees, and the UNIFORMS! A good aikido gi is expensive. Not to mention hot, heavy, and uncomfortable. Ok, it's useful for when practicing clothing grabs, which we hardly ever do. I have to disagree that martial arts take up all your time. Or maybe we're more laid-back here in the Philippines. But we only practice in the dojo two hours per class, two to three times a week. The rest of the time of course, I can devote to self study away from the dojo, and I do that a lot. But I don't spend my whole day training. I think even just thirty minutes or less of self study, so long as it's focused and is complemented by regular training at the dojo, can be effective. Of course, if I can spend more time then so much the better but I don't always have that luxury. I guess my point is it's not just the length of time training, it's also how I spend that length of time.
agreed.. I think some instructors get onto your head though here in the states. But I dont know. you live in a martial arts friendly enviroment. Competition here for business is a factor. And the uniforms.. Haha.. not something you wear outdoors anyways.. not that expensive. And theres always used.. But I see this side of training If you exaust yourself say 2 hours training and then 3. much like you would any major sport your rank will increase. If your techniques is all you work on.. But factor in cardio and weight training. \ You develope techniques around your weakness, more sweeps and grabs, defencive moves (Im losing some agility with age), to keep your opponent /s off their target (your vitals). As much as I like Taekwondo, Akido has a gentle side to it imo.. and helps with my ti chi. If again I only had more disipline. Im lot less idle now, but still over burdened with things but.. have been kicking the heavy bag good. balance is not good, but still ok.. geezzee bloggggggg blogggg lol..... seriously.. Good OP. betters up the forum a bit.. .. Some cardio Im doing now is martial art related. But my local friends are street fighters and thats cool and all. But it would help if they had some grace in fighting and wrestling.. To much lumber jack shit.. But good enough for learing, My area is far from any Dojo.. other that cornny want to bes.. with very little full contact fighting.. But yeah that about right.. 2 hours a few times a week.. not so easy for me but Im working on it.
