This Saturday it was time again: We met in the well-known gym to whip! Only one small thing differed from the previous seminars: This seminar was planned and conducted entirely by me (Arvid). This was part of my exam for the 6th level - the black belt - in Tibetan Wave. But even before the seminar we were able to congratulate Lennart on reaching the first level! An important step for the future of our style and Lennart's success! This time we all warmed up together. During the jumping jacks, everyone was allowed to express their creativity, which led to a few laughs. After warming up without the whip, we were given it in our hands and got used to the feeling of holding such a device again.

The first session was divided into two groups: The first group tried their hand at form, while the second group worked on individual movements - either favorite movements or ones they found particularly difficult. In the form group, new movements were also tried out after the repetition. These sometimes caused some confusion. The hand-foot-whip coordination is sometimes really tricky. 😀 The first long break came sooner than expected - and we even got some extremely tasty muffins!

The second session focused on self-defense. But - unlike usual - this time we looked at how to behave when the opponent has a whip and we don't! For us snake tamers, this requires a bit of rethinking. Without a whip, fighting just feels strange ;D We then split into groups of two and got started: What do I have to consider? What's the best way to get out of the danger zone? What can I do afterwards? With a lot of trial and error, everyone came to a conclusion - even the little tamers! I don't know why, but this session seemed to me to be the shortest. At the end of it, I still really wanted to do exactly that! But a schedule is a schedule - and that's why we started the third and final session after the break.

The third session again had two separate elements: whipping on beer mats - as we all know and love - and whipping off bottle caps! So as well as the confetti we produced, there was also constant bowling alley type noises. For level 1, I placed the lids of the PET bottles upside down on the bottle. This alone requires an enormous amount of aiming skill to hit just the lid. Because if the bottle falls over or something similar happens, it doesn't count!

For the pros, there was a tougher version: place the lids the right way up on the bottle - but don't screw them in. Anyone who thinks this is just as difficult as hitting the lids upside down is way off the mark! Maybe there will be someone who can do this in the future - no one did it last Saturday anyway ;P

At this point, a big thank you to Claudia, who supervised one of the two groups in the first and third sessions, to Thomas, who as always diligently took pictures, and to Michael, who had his all-seeing eyes open the whole time and supported me with tips and comments during the implementation.

After the official part of the seminar, I continued with my exam. Those who wanted to were allowed to stay, those who had to leave were allowed to go. A report on my first black belt exam in Germany at Tibetan Wave can be found in another article.