Hanshi - The path to 8th dan:Hayashi Kunio Hanshi

"An 8th dan examinee can pass by just understanding the kendo kata."

What are you doing to prepare for your dan promotion examination?
I am making an effort to follow the instructions given by my sensei precisely.
In addition, I go to observe the dan examinations that are held before I take my own examination, so that I can predict my opponent's level of ability when I take the exam. I thought I carefully prepared for the examination.
However, the preparation that Hayashi Sensei made for his 8th dan examination was much more specific than I had imagined.
Hayashi Sensei had this to say about the standing position for the 8thdan examination. "The distance and position between the examinee and the examiner is very important, and it is more powerful when the examinee performs the technique close to the examiner." He was also perfect in allocating the two minutes of examination time. He explained the time allocation of the judging in this way, "In the first 30 seconds, we would attack each other and I would show my techniques. Next, I perform another waza at the end of one minute. Next, I show a waza when one minute and thirty seconds have passed. Finally, I show the last waza just before the two minutes are up. I try to use fewer waza in the examination and hope that I can use my each waza at the opportune time."
I believe that each dan examinee has his or her own way of devising and making efforts. It is natural for examinees to practice hard, but in order to pass the examination, the examinee has to perform with the best standing among the examiners. The shortest path to passing the exam is to prepare well for things other than simply waza.

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