My Shodan experience was a very emotional journey. Physically and mentally it was very draining and I felt it was the toughest challenge I have faced, however was a great learning experience and showed to me that achieving black belt is only just the start of what can be.
Going into the grading. I was very nervous and I felt this showed to begin with, but when I was warm and settled I just wanted to express myself as much as possible and give the grading as much as I could. The pressure was amazing and hard to describe but I just had to carry on and power through trying my best to put myself forward and show my worth.
Once the grading was over I was exhausted but so proud of myself, the feeling was great and mentally it was a relief. I felt like all the work I had put it had finally been showed and expressed and now it was down to the respective judges to see if my efforts were worthy.
I passed. I had achieved what I had started 8 years ago, the feeling is unexplainable of making my family and sensei proud. It made me look back at all the hard times and struggles but this made the achievement much more worthy. Before I took the grading I was told that getting Shodan was just the beginning and now I believe getting Shodan IS just the beginning and can’t wait to start this new journey.
Dharmender Bhakar - December 2014
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