Successful Dan Testing

On Saturday, 25th September, we were very proud to complete our first grading in over a year, and it was the Dan testing at that.

Our Dan testings are 4 hours of drilling syllabus, mental and physical challenges, padwork, sparring and followed off by breaking. Our students are required to know their entire syllabus; as well as be able to complete various tasks set by the examiners (some of which cannot be prepared for!). The higher up you are grading for, the more mentally and physically challenging the grading - and a lot of us instructors have been there, and we can tell you, it's worth the sweat and tears at the end!

As an examiner on the day, I'd like to extend my pride and congratulations to all those who graded on the day. It's been a really tough 18 months, and I know some of those who graded were due in 2020, so your determination to keep going through these uncertain times is outstanding.

The spirit was excellent, the techniques were excellent, and overall, it was a pleasure to watch. There were some very sweaty bodies by the end, but I think you all should be extremely proud of your achievements.

As an instructor of one of the students on the day - I can say how proud I was that my student, along with the wonderful 4 that also graded, carried on pushing throughout the day. For some, if not all, this may have been the hardest thing that they have done since pre-COVID. It's easy to give up when things are difficult or challenging, but you all demonstrated that indomitable spirit we admire in DTSD.

So, I'd just like to say a huge well done to all those who graded on that day - and a huge thank you to the Dan grades that attended during the day to be thrown about!

I look forward to the next event in October!