Linda Eskin - Aikido 5th Kyu Exam - Aikido of San Diego

My 5th kyu Aikido exam, on 6 February, 2010.

I have been training less than a year. 5th kyu is the second test we do (still a white belt). You can read my comments about this test on my blog (www.grabmywrist.com/post/374927872/5th-kyu-test).

I am very grateful to my very perceptive, kind, and dedicated mentor and uke, Daniel Vallieres, to Dave Goldberg Sensei, and all the teachers and students at Aikido of San Diego (www.aikidosd.com).

Thank you to Michael Eskin for the video!

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Aikido
• Aikido of San Diego
• jiyuwaza
• 5th kyu
• grading
• exam
• test
• martial art
• San Diego
• bokken
• jo
• Linda Eskin

[SoggyGibblets]

This really reminds me of my 5th kyu test! the almost falling over, forgetting the technique and the puzzled look continuously on my uke's face and the weapons! thanks for reminding me of one of the best nights I ever had doing Aikido!

For what it is worth I think you did great, looks like your getting the basics down quite well, awesome job can't wait to see the 4th kyu grading!

[LindaEskin]

@SoggyGibblets LOL I love your description, and I'm glad you had fun. :-) Thank you for the nice note. My 4th kyu exam, and now 3rd, too, are around here somewhere. LOL You can probably see them in the sidebar, or find them by searching, if you like. Cheers. :-)

[PainfullyWitty]

Thanks for posting this great video!

[LindaEskin]

@PainfullyWitty You're very welcome. I hope you found it helpful, or at least amusing. ;-)

[LindaEskin]

@MrMykl71 No problem. In our dojo we start out as unranked (white), then 6th/5th kyu are still white. 4th/3rd are blue, and 2nd/1st are brown. Only yudansha wear hakama. It just helps everyone see relative levels of experience at a glace. Our tests aren't too bad, from an endurance perspective. Of course they get more challenging as you get to the higher ranks. All the best in your training!

[MrMykl71]

@LindaEskin if you dont mind me asking .. what is your color system for that style in aikido .. are you testing for yellow ?? our system is .. 8th kyu/white, 7th kyu/white - stripe, 6th kyu/yellow, 5th kyu/yellow - stripe, 4th kyu/blue, 3rd kyu/blue - stripe, 2nd kyu/brown, 1st kyu/brown - stripe. then all the dan ranks as follows. im just confused about your ranking system. By the way your test was lax compared to the ones i had, they were grueling & exhausting. difficult sensei perhaps.

[CheetaRevised]

@janubart There is over 1.5 to 2 million people in the world today practicing Aikido. This includes militaries and police forces. With hundreds of other martial arts to choose from I don't think these numbers would classify it as a "dying art".

[LindaEskin]

@russ1q Hi Russ (?), and sorry for the very delayed reply! Thank you for your very nice comment. I'm preparing now for my 4th kyu test (in November). I hope I've improved... at least a little. Haha... Looking forward to checking out your videos, too. Happy training!

[LindaEskin]

@captainCip Thank you for your kind words (which I did not notice until just now). As I have prepared for tests (and now am preparing for 4th kyu), I have watched a lot of videos by others, and some have been a great help. Not so much for learning techniques (which vary on tests from dojo to dojo anyway), but for seeing how tests go, generally, and the level at which people are performing. I've appreciated when people have posted theirs, so I hope I can do the same for others.

[russ1q]

In most dojos I know this would be considered a very, very good 5th kyu test. Linda shows the form very well and moves from center...most of the time:-). If she keeps training I'm sure she will enjoy self defensive capability and... much, much more.

Good luck in your training.