My sensei tested me on my Aikido test and I didn't know that he was. I take that back, my dad told me that my sensei said something to him,but was told not to tell me. I'd been practicing Aikido for 4 years but was not able to test because of my age. I was told the reason I didn't know is because my sensei didn't want to stress me more.(my black belt test was in a week). My mom told me he was going to test me secretly again, on saturday. Why does my sensei not tell me? I think I should know when I'm gonna test. It makes me feel like just because I'm a black belt in another style, I don't need to practice techniques before a test. It doesn't anger me, just it's kinda strange. Any thoughts?

thats an easy one... your dog will never tear up your house while your standing their watching it. he wants to make sure that you are hardworking enough of a student that you are able to meet any sudden suprise [like a test out of nowhere] and overcome it.

I take it from your post that thus far nobody else has had a secret grading?

I usually give my studnets 2 weeks notice.

First of all, your parents shouldn't have told you...that invalidates the "test" (no dis-respect intended here).

 

Secondly, I agree with "a modern production"-it's all about what you do when you think nobody's watching that counts.

 

I took my first Shodan test without knowing it-in fact most of Sensei's tests were "off the cuff". He wanted to see that you trained hard and were committed EVERY TIME you stepped into the dojo..not just when you wanted something out of him.

 

My nidan test came as a surprise. No one but Sensei knew it was happening. Over the course of the evening it actually started with the things I was asked to do helping others before class. Ran through the first class, continued into weapons and finally finished with an unexpected breaking demonstration at the end of the second karate class.

Nobody had another secret testing. My sensei drives me to another place and then they conduct "ninja tests" as they call them. I just want to know I'm gonna test because I'm starting in Aikido and I want to practice slightly. I don't know 25 % of it because I'm testing 3 months early.

either your sensei is not all there, or he/she thinks you are an exceptionaly gifted and hardworking student who deserves this extra bit of treatment, ...........or they just don't like you.

My instructor told us that when he was testing for his black belt he had to drive overnight to get there. His mom thought that wasn't very fair because he'd be so tired, but he told her "What if I was driving overnight and someone attacked me at a rest stop? Will they care that it's not fair I'm tired?" So I suppose I sort of support the notion of not knowing when you're being tested, because you don't always get to choose your battles.

Well I doubt that your sensei would be testing you if you weren't prepared for it, so he must have watched you and thought you knew enough.

 

I think I'd actually prefer it if my test was sprung on me like that.

 

That sort of happened with my last test. I talked myself out of going to the actual official test (too scared....I'm such a wimp), and the next week one of my instructors said that he was quite angry that I hadn't tested because I knew the stuff and was just chickening out. He said he was going to have a word with my sensei and arrange the test for another day, but I didn't think that he would. I reckoned he'd just forget.

 

Anyway, the next week my sensei was at the class, but this instructor wasn't, and the week after that the instructor was there but the sensei wasn't, so I was pretty sure that after a month of classes with my test not being done, they'd just leave it. Nope. The next week they were both there, but I wasn't really expecting it when one of them just grabbed me and made me go into a space on my own and prepare for my test. It was better that way....a bit more painless. I didn't have to sit and get all nervous and worked up before class. It was just sprung on me, and was over before I knew it.

 

Even if the worst comes to the worst and you fail, it is by no means the end of the world. You can retest some other time.

 

If you really don't feel comfortable doing surprize tests, its maybe best that you just tell your Sensei this and see what he says.