Four more days until my grading.
Yesterday Sensei and Sempai set up a mock test and took me through the list of grading requirements in succession, without breaks. Let me tell you, my lungs felt like they were the size of walnuts (without the shell). It was all I could do to fill my lungs with air, and even then it was very uncomfortable and I felt like gasping.
I’ve been training four days a week, and admittedly it isn’t a real cardio buster. So on my off-days I have been going to the Y for spinning classes a few times a week, as well as skipping at home and sometimes for a while before class. It would seem that my efforts have failed me – which is concerning.
Now I’m no longer worried about forgetting kata, drawing blanks, or messing up my basics and bunkai, I’m worried that I will pass out!
Just when I was starting to feel like I was actually ready...
Don't panic! Just do your best to breathe, and breathe correctly when you start gasping - in the nose, out the mouth. I know that in my test, the black belts' goal is to exhaust me. It's a 3 hour test. I'm going to be gasping at some points. It's going to happen. The key is to keep pushing through the exhaustion.
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