Belting up…
Yesterday was kyu grading day at the Phoenix Aikido Club. Congratulations to everyone who successfully moved up to their next belt. One person failed to move from orange to green, which is always disappointing, but I’m sure she’ll sail through it at the next grading in July. The overall standard was good, and a few people did extremely well. Most notable was “Young Sam”, who put on an exceptional performance, and is now officially to be know as “Sam the Man”. He was understandably pleased with himself, but did look a little overwhelmed by the praise and attention.
On a personal level, I was extremely chuffed to have made it through the entire week. I attended four classes in five days; a total of nearly 8 hours on the mat. This is the most training I have attempted since starting back at Aikido last summer, following a break of almost 3 years because of a problem with my hips. I started physiotherapy about 2 years ago, and the grading weekend has been the most severe test of my fitness. I still have a lot of exercising to do before I can consider attending a more intensive course, like the forthcoming trip to Lowestoft in April. I think 7 hours in 2 days would be more than my hips could cope with at this stage.
Still, hopefully my fitness and strength will continue to improve enough for me to attempt my Brown Belt grading in November.