On Saturday I (Arvid) was given a very great honor: I was allowed to take the black belt exam in Tibetan Wave, which I successfully passed.
I am now a second-generation black belt (or holder of the sixth level) in Tibetan Wave - and the first person in Germany to take such an exam.

The examination was divided into three parts:
I had to work out and plan the content and timing of a seminar, develop a new form, learn the theory of the basic form and complete a self-defense part. I have already reported on the seminar in another article.

The form and theory part started immediately after the seminar on 29.03.2025. My first task there was to share my knowledge of the basic form. This includes the techniques and their meaning, but also, for example, the deeper idea behind the step pattern. In addition to the basic form, I have mastered two other forms that I developed myself - the first as part of my fifth level and now another for the sixth. The special feature of the new form I developed for this test is that it uses a second weapon. I have opted for an axe (tomahawk). Unfortunately, I'm still missing the names for both forms - but that's also in progress 😉 There were various tasks to master for the forms. Whether it was a modified way of walking the shape, connecting two shapes together or integrating movements from one shape into the other - it certainly didn't get boring! There was also a “surprise part”: I was allowed to come up with a short form with two whips and also run the basic form with a 10-foot whip. For comparison: our usual whips are 5 feet long, which is about 1.5 meters. A 10-foot whip corresponds to about 3 meters - this results in a swing radius of around 6 meters! The feel and technique change drastically. Not only do you have to be much more patient until something happens (as the whip is much heavier due to its length and weight) - you also have to work a lot more with your body!

After the form part had been completed to the satisfaction of the examiners, there was a change of environment. We went from the gym over to the kung fu school, where Sifu Holger was already waiting for us. The last and most strenuous part of my exam was to follow: the self-defense part. In the self-defense part, I first got myself going with various physical exercises and then had to show on a purely technical level that I could also defend myself at close range with a whip in my hand. Even though purely technical work is not as strenuous as other aspects, it was still anything but relaxed due to the previous exercises. Luckily, I had three really good teammates who played the “bad guys” for me - and their skills really brought out the best in my performance. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Michael, Christian and Michi! So that it didn't get boring here either, at some point I switched to dynamically working on my opponents, bringing them to the ground and securing them - but in an orderly fashion, one after the other. The most stressful part was (as almost always) the so-called “Multiman” part, where all my opponents were allowed to attack me at the same time. So it could happen that I was busy with one opponent while the next one was already attacking me - or something similar. Which didn't make the whole thing any easier: My opponents were allowed to use weapons of all kinds the whole time.
It didn't matter whether it was a stick, knife, whip, axe, nunchaku - or even pistols! Towards the end, however, I was allowed to continue using disarmed weapons - which helped me a lot. It's just better to defend yourself - with an axe! ;D After I had defeated all the enemies, they all threw themselves at me at the same time and I had to fight my way free.

At the end, Si Ting Ron Lew and Eve and Tim even joined in via video call. I was really pleased about that. Si Ting Ron gave me a few tips and shared his opinion on the German exams with us. Quote: “I like your tests in germany, they are so hard and long!” - Even after 6 hours of exams, that was still good for a laugh! Even after several days away, I still find it difficult to find any final words. No words can do justice to the exam, the journey and the friendships and acquaintances I was able to make along the way. I would simply like to thank everyone who has accompanied me on this Whip Germany journey. Especially Michael, Basti and Claudia! I am now looking forward to the future of our style and am excited to see which black belts will follow me!