The Rumsfield Test

After what can only be construed as an awesome class Teacher pulled me aside and asked me if I was ready for my next rank. This in itself is unusual because he usually does a surprise test at some point when he feels you're ready. I realize that other schools are very specific as to what dictates a test, but we are unafiliated and so far I can't complain at the pace. It's not really a belt centric kind of place anyway.

So after stuttering about wanting to be in better shape (thinking of GonewiththeToe's testing months) he sat me down and we had a long discussion which could be summed up with, "Do you know what you know and what you don't know?" He had to use Kid Speed as an example. That guy is technically is a brown belt, but placed into a situation where he had to teach that info or even talk about it at length he wouldn't be able to. So he doesn't know what he knows. I almost didn't giggle here, but Teacher was in a good mood so he took it in stride.

Teacher revealed some poignant moments in his belting. He referred back to when he received his Blackbelt (I was there for that) and how anti-climactic it was. No bag of tricks and the feeling of questions if he was worthy of it. I gathered he sensed that in what I was trying to say.

After I got home I ended up thinking about it for awhile and realized that I had kind of received a verbal exam (The Rumsfield baby!) and felt like I passed.

I should mention that class was great because we doing a double punch and then the block for them that led into a double wrist lock. Awesome.