So Mr. Chick and I were promoted to our next Presas Arnis rank - 3rd degree Black Belt - under our primary teacher last week.
He had discussed promoting us for some time, and originally, we were supposed to be promoted in August as a camp we were going to hold of people who train with or under my teacher. The idea was that a bunch of people to be promoted to a higher rank, including my teacher's ready-to-be-Black Belt student, at the same time as a group.
Thanks to the stupid 'Rona, that camp is canceled.
My teacher was in town (we'd planned time off for a different camp here in KC that also got canceled thanks to COVID-19) so we just trained together as much as we could while he was here, including making a trip out to a friend's Luzviminda Class as guests.
We trained and trained and trained, for four days. I am fighting what I now know to be a really bad case of bursitis in my hip, so I had to get up and sit down a lot and couldn't train as much as I wanted to.
Our students at the Kansas City Presas Arnis Meetup as well as Elite Dragon Martial Arts got to spend time with him, which was great for our students.
We nerded out on the most esoteric points and debated them endlessly, and tried to pressure test some of our points of disagreement. My teacher does not raise compliant, unquestioning students, so sometimes we'd disagree with a (relatively minor) point and we'd hash it out.
It was great.
At the end of our Elite Dragon class on the last day of his visit, he surprise-promoted us in front of my students.
As I said, I knew it was coming but I had no idea he would do it then and now. I thought maybe next year, y'know?
Nope. He did it now.
Yes, I cried a little. ** sniffles **
Yeah, it was really special, being surprise promoted in front of students. He has a habit of making our big-time promotions special (remember, I was secret-tested and surprise promoted to 1st Black, so this was sort of similar).
He's announced it formally on Facebook (here) so now I can tell all y'all.
Just call me Dayang Tatlo.
This doesn't affect my rank in Presas Arnis in the World Modern Arnis Alliance and under Datu Tim Hartman. I'm a 2nd there still (and that's totally great - happy and proud to be a 2nd under him).
Who knows if and when I'll be able to test for 3rd there, thanks to the pandemic.
Stoopid 'Rona.