Today's shinsa was successful for me, in terms of shodan, though it was also successful for 90% if not more of the candidates, which is not to say that I feel any less proud and relieved, but just that I know that this rank is in a broader context, and after all just a beginner's grade, as the kanji readily reveals.

Still, it felt from the matches I saw that it was just a whole not of diagonal corner-to-corner men-kakari-geiko, and not much actual seme or waza other than straight up men. I managed to land a few decent kote and kote-men, I think, and resisted the urge to do my usual hiki-kote nonsense, so I felt like I did a good job either way. Kata too was a breeze--everyone passed, even though there were some substantial bloopers in most cases. I still felt nervous though.

One more year before I'm eligible for nidan. Should be worried that our dojo produced no ikkyu this time 'round?