amituofo!
so, i tested at 10:30am saturday & it went well. it's strange. i was ready to go & just wanted it done already but once i got in line to hear sifu tell us the order we were to perform, i was pretty calm. up until then of course my heart was beating very loudly in my ears. i was happy to be sandwiched between the brothers i was performing with. we have trained together a lot & have good rapport. that's important. just as pacing is important.
knowing it was going to be shorter line drills, i gave it all the CHI i had. i made sure to pop with every part of the body. quan tuo was there & i made sure not to look at him, although i snuck a couple of looks at the back of his head. once i began chuji quan tao, i left my head entirely. i let my body do it as i know it. it's not auto pilot per say, it's something else. before testing started at warm up, i performed thes form several times stressing certain things that i find difficult to do & doing this helped greatly. of course i should mention that the night before quan tuo drilled me on the refinements as well as the transitions for zuopan, xiebu, pubu & dingbu. this helped me oh so much!
i also resisted smiling at sifu too much. at the end he gave criticisms to everyone but for me he simply said chad, more chi! considering i was giving the most chi there, i thought it was funny but at the same time, i know sifu expects more. besides which i should judge only myself so more chi it is!
quan tuo & i watched 3 other groups test before he had to test himself. in between we even had #1 soup with sifu & his loyal crew. it was nice to hang out with sifu & he was especially chatty about his recent holidays, the kids, the flag work, whatever. it was all comfortably & casual. the lunch break pushed the next testing group back about 20 minutes!
quan tuo's group was the last one to perform & those guys did well. erluquan is so long, i really think people have to pace themselves. quan tuo was clean & sharp. as we are supposed to perform all the forms we know, not just the recently learned one, many including quan tuo performed multiple times. you could see some folks peter out & i cannot blame them.
when it was all said & done, a group of us went for a drinks together at spring st lounge. it was much needed (although food was also so needed). we walked into that crowded bar, immediately scored a table by the windows & proceeded to drink a few beers. it was sweet, everyone was in high spirits. i think that's post testing euphoria! i think some of these guys will go with quan tuo to level 2 so it was nice to be able to chill with them while i can & hang out.
thereafter quan tuo & i had dinner with a couple of folks in little italy. it was ok. i don't fancy much the touristy scene. also i had waited too long to eat. i inhaled my spagetti & meat ball. it was lackluster or maybe my taste buds were just shot. we took the subway home & it that was all very giggly & fun. quan tuo even walked the boyos for me while i chatted with my mom a bit & texted with qbertplaya.
testing was exhausting. it was more mentally & psychologically exhausting than physical since it is so much shorter than regular training. it was great to sit & watch the others but most especially to see quan tuo up there. he makes me so proud.
having had my first test, i now know what to expect for next time. 6 months for yiluquan & erluquan. we shall see how things develop.
so, i tested at 10:30am saturday & it went well. it's strange. i was ready to go & just wanted it done already but once i got in line to hear sifu tell us the order we were to perform, i was pretty calm. up until then of course my heart was beating very loudly in my ears. i was happy to be sandwiched between the brothers i was performing with. we have trained together a lot & have good rapport. that's important. just as pacing is important.
knowing it was going to be shorter line drills, i gave it all the CHI i had. i made sure to pop with every part of the body. quan tuo was there & i made sure not to look at him, although i snuck a couple of looks at the back of his head. once i began chuji quan tao, i left my head entirely. i let my body do it as i know it. it's not auto pilot per say, it's something else. before testing started at warm up, i performed thes form several times stressing certain things that i find difficult to do & doing this helped greatly. of course i should mention that the night before quan tuo drilled me on the refinements as well as the transitions for zuopan, xiebu, pubu & dingbu. this helped me oh so much!
i also resisted smiling at sifu too much. at the end he gave criticisms to everyone but for me he simply said chad, more chi! considering i was giving the most chi there, i thought it was funny but at the same time, i know sifu expects more. besides which i should judge only myself so more chi it is!
quan tuo & i watched 3 other groups test before he had to test himself. in between we even had #1 soup with sifu & his loyal crew. it was nice to hang out with sifu & he was especially chatty about his recent holidays, the kids, the flag work, whatever. it was all comfortably & casual. the lunch break pushed the next testing group back about 20 minutes!
quan tuo's group was the last one to perform & those guys did well. erluquan is so long, i really think people have to pace themselves. quan tuo was clean & sharp. as we are supposed to perform all the forms we know, not just the recently learned one, many including quan tuo performed multiple times. you could see some folks peter out & i cannot blame them.
when it was all said & done, a group of us went for a drinks together at spring st lounge. it was much needed (although food was also so needed). we walked into that crowded bar, immediately scored a table by the windows & proceeded to drink a few beers. it was sweet, everyone was in high spirits. i think that's post testing euphoria! i think some of these guys will go with quan tuo to level 2 so it was nice to be able to chill with them while i can & hang out.
thereafter quan tuo & i had dinner with a couple of folks in little italy. it was ok. i don't fancy much the touristy scene. also i had waited too long to eat. i inhaled my spagetti & meat ball. it was lackluster or maybe my taste buds were just shot. we took the subway home & it that was all very giggly & fun. quan tuo even walked the boyos for me while i chatted with my mom a bit & texted with qbertplaya.
testing was exhausting. it was more mentally & psychologically exhausting than physical since it is so much shorter than regular training. it was great to sit & watch the others but most especially to see quan tuo up there. he makes me so proud.
having had my first test, i now know what to expect for next time. 6 months for yiluquan & erluquan. we shall see how things develop.
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