5th Kyu

5th Kyu is my Aikido rank now. I had my first test today. Everyone said I did well but I was not really satisfied with my performance. You really can't "pass" or "fail" these tests. By the time a student takes a test the Sensei has already seen them perform the techniques numerous times. I did perform all the techniques, but not as well as I would have liked.

I was thinking today that this first step is probably the biggest I will take in my Aikido practice. There will be many more tests I hope, but they will just be measuring progress. But this first test separates my life into two parts....unranked and ranked.

The picture above shows Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido, throwing an uke. I will never reach the level of proficiency illustrated here, but it's a good goal to work toward.