UsagiYojimbo

In our style, it's 8th kyu. It goes white, orange, then gold.

Thanks all.

I had to perform Fukiyu Kata Dai Ni. I also had to demonstrate bunkai from Fukiyu Kata Dai Ichi and Dai Ni. I didn't spar; gold belt is 8th kyu in my style, and we don't spar at that level.

This was a surprise. In my karate class, we had our first formal testing tonight. For my previous belt, I had attended an informal testing. So we had to let the senseis know if we wanted to participate. So I chose to participate, but just as a practice; I wasn't intending to test for my belt. I've had health problems on and off the last few weeks, and I've missed way more class than I would have liked (wishing, of course, to have missed none). It was nerve-wracking! So, I went through all of the testing procedures, and I was so nervous I just kept screwing everything up. Plus, my legs were super-tired, and I just didn't have the strength to stay low enough in my stances. Afterward, one of the senseis got with my and discussed how I did. He brought up the issue with stances, and a couple of other things. So I have lots to work on. But then he said, "Well, the senseis decided that you're ready to advance to gold." I think my jaw actually dropped! Later, when we were at Tommy's Pizza, my sensei was talking about how my primary issue had been not being low enough in my stances. And he stressed, "Well, you'll find that if you This was a surprise. In my karate class, we had our first formal testing tonight. For my previous belt, I had attended an informal testing. So we had to let the senseis know if we wanted to participate. So I chose to participate, but just as a practice; I wasn't intending to test for my belt. I've had health problems on and off the last few weeks, and I've missed way more class than I would have liked (wishing, of course, to have missed none). It was nerve-wracking! So, I went through all of the testing procedures, and I was so nervous I just kept screwing everything up. Plus, my legs were super-tired, and I just didn't have the strength to stay low enough in my stances. Afterward, one of the senseis got with my and discussed how I did. He brought up the issue with stances, and a couple of other things. So I have lots to work on. But then he said, "Well, the senseis decided that you're ready to advance to gold." I think my jaw actually dropped! Later, when we were at Tommy's Pizza, my sensei was talking about how my primary issue had been not being low enough in my stances. And he stressed, "Well, you'll find that if you come to class regularly, you'll develop enough strength." Yeah, ok, point taken. So, just sharing some awesomeness with you all.

I completely forgot if they said that. I need to go back and re-read the previous books now.

I think a lot of people get kanji tattoos because, in addition to being words, they're also art. Generally speaking, most people don't consider the English alphabet to be art. And, in my opinion, art always looks better than words as a tattoo. That said, if you are going to get something in kanji, make absolutely SURE you know what it REALLY means. I have a friend who got a kanji tattoo that, when interpreted one way, meant something that sounded really cool (I forget what it was now). However, a japanese girl pointed out to him that the most common translation for it was "bad at relationships". So be careful.

I'm not advanced enough yet to do free-sparring; right now, it's just 1- and 3-step sparring. But I generally don't think ahead about what I'm going to focus on. I just see what works after the other person throws his/her attack.

Way to go! Wow, after only 4 weeks of training? Keep working hard.

I think Dumbledore felt that keeping the Horcruxes secret was vital. At this point, I don't think Voldemort knows that anyone outside of himself knows about them, not even the Death Eaters. If Harry told one of the Order, there's a chance that they could be captured and tortured, and reveal that they were searching for the Horcruxes. Keeping the search as secret as possible would keep the element of surprise on Harry's side. Dumbledore probably figured that it would be alright if Ron and Hermione knew, since they would undoubtedly be helping Harry find them. He also probably figured they would be safe from torture because of Harry's (or possibly other?) protection.

*WARNING: MORE SPOILERS* Oh, also a couple of things I forgot to mention: 3. R.A.B. is probably Sirius' brother, Regulus Black. Hence the locket ending up at Grimmauld Place. 4. Some people have suggested that Harry's scar is in itself a horcrux. I personally don't buy this one, though; it seems unlikely that LV would place a horcrux in a living being, especially one he was trying to kill.

Ah, yes. But the real question is, is Snape really Harry's father?

So how about some scuttlebutt and theories on the next one? Here are the conclusions I've come to, and some ideas that I've seen others express on the net: *WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS* . . . 1. Snape was ordered to kill Dumbledore by Dumbledore himself. Dumbledore knew that he would probably be killed seeking the horcrux, so he ordered Snape to finish him off so Snape still appeared to be on the side of the Deatheaters. Therefore, the scene at the end where Dumbledore is pleading with him, saying, "Snape, please," he actually means please kill me. Also, they are both accomplished at Legilimancy, so they could have been speaking silently to each other during that time. And Snape had made the Unbreakable Vow, so he HAD to kill Dumbledore. 2. The real locket is or was at 12 Grimmauld Place. In an earlier book (I believe it was OotP), Rowling makes reference to a heavy locket they found there that they couldn't open. Mundungus probably stole it, along with the suitcase of other stuff he had stolen from Grimmauld Place. Why else would that scene be there at the beginning of HBP? Anyone else have any theories?

Before you get a subscription, you might want to check your local libraries for copies. I just did a search and found out that the university library carries JAMA. I'm definitely going to check some copies out now. Thanks for the suggestion!

As I said, it's your decision. If it were me, I wouldn't do or say anything at all about it. But then, I'm pretty non-confrontational.

Yep, pagan. *Edit: also, I was just looking at your profile. What are the Kenisises?*