| Show Me That You Are Hungry With beginning students, yellow belts and orange belts, I go easier with the ranks, especially with the stripes. Even if you have not attended much lately I will let you test for a stripe as long as all together you have accumulated enough lessons. With the higher ranks that is not enough. Say you have enough lessons since your last test but you have not attended more than two or three lessons this month, I will not test you. At this stage I want you to show me that you really want the rank, that you are hungry for it, that you want it really badly, that you willing to make some sacrifice for it. If you are not willing to make it some sort of a priority, if you are not willing to make an effort, than you are really not worthy, at this stage, to be promoted. One of the things Sensei Itay has taught me is that you must respect the rank and you must prove you are worthy of it. As the diploma say - "The person has attained this rank after a long term of the person's utmost exertions." You will earn the rank when you prove to me that you truly deserve it. |