Last week, I passed my 7th kyu ninpo exam.

The sempai and I were already preparing for the exam, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we had had to do the exam either last week, or wait until February. Waiting was not a good option. The sempai and I will be teaching class several times in the near future, so it is good to have a higher grade, if only to make the distinction if new members come and watch a class.

Additionally, we will need to focus on teaching, which would limit the time we have to prepare for this specific kyu. And since we were close to taking the exam, we chose to go the extra mile and take the exam. After a very busy week (made possible only by the fact that my lovely wife accommodated for the sudden schedule changes) we took the exam. All in all, I was fairly happy with the exam.

With the tai sabaki I did not get hit (which is always a plus) but I did slap my hands down a bit too hard instead of gently touching the ground with my fingertips. The daken kihon went well, but that was to be expected. It's the same kihon that we have been practicing for 3 years now. And the Ura and Omote kote gyaku went well. Ura especially.

When I first started learning it, I spent months in frustration trying to get it to work. And I still remember the exact moment when I suddenly figured it out and understood it. It was during a training session when I was feeling a bit under the weather and was entertaining the notion of staying at home. I learned 2 important lessons that day: the first is how to do Ura. The other was that no matter how much you'd like to skip class, go anyway. Even though you feel bad, it might be that one class that will make a huge difference.

Anyway, We both passed the exam.