Jun Shihan Marla: My recent rank promotion to Jun Shihan was fulfilling in so many ways. The special practices with Shuseki Shihan Nancy and the guidance and support in black belt classes helped keep my preparation process on track. Taking classes at the new Honbu space was so special after watching many classes on the mobile dojo from Chicago. Testing with so many wonderful candidates, both local and international, creates a bond that never ceases to touch your heart; sharing my art at Joshin Honzan with Kaicho and Nidaime is an experience that is always unforgettable—including a culinary treat of Mrs. Nakamura’s delicious homemade miso soup! Being back in New York, seeing, and reconnecting with other Seido Senpai from years past always reminds me of what our Seido family is all about. And, as always, being hosted in New York City by Jun Shihan Wai and his partner Kathy made it feel like I never left home. I am deeply honored and touched to have had this experience. Osu!

Kyoshi Jean: One of my wonderful memories from my Godan test was the overnight portion at Johshin Honzan. We started our test at 4:00 PM on Saturday and continued through the night (with two breaks: one to eat a meal, and one to sleep) until 6:00 AM Sunday morning. While this was my second overnight experience, it was still special because it was just the candidates sharing our karate—and ourselves—with Kaicho, Nidaime, and Shuseki Shihan Nancy. Staying at the dojo meant I could forget about the outside world, focus on being a karateka, and bond with the other candidates. Still, the test was challenging and vigorous, so I just lay awake during the second break. After a long, sleepless night, I was packing to leave Joshin Honzan and reminded myself to put my sai in my suitcase. Despite this, my carry-on was pulled aside at security. An agent found my sai in it! I explained how I thought I put them in my suitcase because weapons are not allowed on planes. The guard walked away, and returned with a tall, burly guard; I thought I would be arrested. I explained that I hadn’t slept in 24 hours because of my karate test, and he told me I could check the sai or he could confiscate them. Because they are special to me, I checked my sai.

Sensei Margarita: As a fifty-seven-year-old survivor of heart transplantation— with several physical ailments including osteopenia— whose training was severely impacted by trying to stay healthy during the pandemic, I was not confident I could train in a way that I could present for promotion. However, I knew that Shuseki Shihan Nancy would only invite me to test if she could believe I could do it. With her invitation also came her offer to support us all the way in our preparation for the test. In addition to that, I was really excited about the opportunity to test with my daughter, now Sensei Lucía, and a group of exceptional and determined fellow karateka, so I embraced the challenge. Shuseki Shihan advised me on how to study and train, and held special sessions devoted to reviewing the hardest parts of our material along with challenges such as performing forms with different combinations of added difficulties—eyes closed plus ura, ura, migi-hajime, and similar permutations— which were both demanding and inspiring. By the time we were heading to New York, I knew that I had prepared as much as I could and that I just needed to stay in the moment and give it my best.

Sensei Lucia: It’s hard to believe that when Shuseki Shihan Nancy and Sensei Ryan first approached me about testing back in January, my initial instinct was to respectfully turn down the invitation. I felt that, given my recent break from training, there was no way I would be able to prepare to a degree that I would be happy presenting to Kaicho and Nidaime. When I was eventually convinced to accept the invitation, the preparation process became an exercise in letting go of my ego. I made a concentrated effort to accept my limitations, and in doing so found that my art had strengthened beyond what I thought possible. Despite the challenges and setbacks I had to deal with while training and during the test itself (ruined gis, flight delays, doing the whole first hour of my test in combat boots…), I found joy in committing myself to my Seido practice and felt spiritually connected to the art in a way I have never experienced before. I can honestly say I am so thankful that I trusted my teachers’ judgment and chose to take on this challenge. This experience is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Sensei Mattie: Testing for Yondan and above means sleeping over at Joshin Honzan, largely separated from the teachers that brought you to that point. It’s a good metaphor, because a senior in Seido is expected to relate to the organization more broadly than just their home dojo. As is common for groups of Thousand Waves students, we adopted a few delightful singletons from other schools. The camaraderie formed during promotions holds strong for years even without seeing one another (even if you’re not always great with names, I promise). Seido students definitely know how to make each other feel supported. As for me, I’ve never felt more calm heading into a promotion. Logistically, it was hectic; I wasn’t in New York for even 48 hours before I was heading straight back to exams. But I was so happy with my art, and grateful to be back in that space with people I had missed. I had actually never been to Joshin Honzan before, but in many ways a promotion is always in the same “space”. Overall, the theme of this testing season really has been joy. It came from LONG preparation and the support of my teachers, cohort, and my dojo. Gassho.

Senpai Willa: Something that struck me the most about my testing experience in New York was the deeply-rooted nature of Seido within every person there. It was amazing to go through such an intense experience with people from all over the world who were all doing the exact same material. I had never met any of my fellow testers before in my life, but I was still able to form easy, free-flowing partnerships with them. There was even a couple from Germany who were entirely self-trained, and I was so excited to do all of our katas together. It wasn’t only the feeling of community that I got from doing our material together that was so impactful; it was also the feeling of genuine support and respect from every member of Seido that was present both at the test and the classes I took beforehand. Before the test, I wasn’t planning on sharing anything incredibly personal during my essay portion, but after I went through part of the test alongside so many Seido members and felt nothing but encouragement from them —and the other seniors present, I felt more than comfortable enough to share something very personal that I wrote in my essay. I have always felt supported and loved by the Thousand Waves community, but after this testing experience, I feel that same support from the broader Seido community as well.

Senpai Kumiko: One of my favorite memories from my testing experience was having three days to devote myself wholeheartedly to karate. While this may seem like something small, it made all the difference for me; yes, I spent some time annotating The Great Gatsby, but I was able to focus the majority of my attention on preparation instead of the other way around. Whether that was practicing kata in a hotel room, taking classes at Honbu and Johshin Honzan, or the test itself, it was refreshing for me to put karate before school work instead of the other way around. Of course, I brought schoolwork with me on the trip, but whereas I usually have to give up going to most weekday karate classes during the school year, I was able to put karate above my schoolwork in light of the occasion. In addition, being able to put karate over schoolwork let me be more focused during class or the test. While I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to put karate over schoolwork (for once), I also could not have gone through this process without immense support from Shuseki Shihan Nancy, Sensei Ryan, my teachers, classmates, and family. Osu!