Nidan to Yondan Aikido Grading

Aikido gradings are tense affairs for those who are grading but happy affairs for those who are watching. It is a spectacle of technique and nerve, more the former than the latter since most are more than ready to meet the grade. The last grading at my dojo was no exception but this one brought its own surprise. Two very senior women, both of whom have been practising for 15 years and showed up to watch and take ukemi, were called up to the testers' table and asked to grade on the spot.

Needless to say they did extremely well and were duly double-promoted from nidan to yondan, an extremely rare event and certainly the only one I've ever seen or heard of. Being double promoted is rare enough at junior grades but at this level, skipping sandan is virtually unheard of. However as these two women number among the best aikidoka in our dojo, I'm not surprised. After all, one's skill at an art is always obvious rather like how a good cook is recognised simply through the eating of his/her food. It's hardly necessary to grade to achieve recognition.

It amused me to watch one of the women deal with one of the men who volunteered to ukemi for her. He got a light backslap in the face for his efforts as he failed to anticipate her atemi (strike) as she was turning back and has a tendency to resist which in this case, is simply asking for trouble. But that of course simply displayed her mastery all the more since she being a petite under 5 foot woman could easily take down this guy who towers more than a foot above her.

Skill in this case trumps being thick.