I passed my test!

On Thursday I took another "checkride", a flight test with a Check Pilot that includes some exams, questioning, and flying the airplane. This was an "Initial" ride, my first one in what is known as Technologically Advanced Aircraft. This particular airplane is a Cessna 182 G-1000 model, "glass cockpit". It's called "glass" because of the computer screens on the panel instead of the round dial gauges airplanes have had for almost a hundred years. That's me in the blue shirt for those who don't know me.

So what's the big deal? The presentation of the information needed to fly the airplane is different, so you have to re-train yourself where to look to get the information. And not just where but how it's presented. The other arrangement used was a standard six-pack of round dials. This airplane uses vertical tapes. AH! Linear versus circular!

The airplane doesn't fly differently than another Cessna 182 but the flight deck is significantly different that it's required we undergo specialized training to get signed off to fly it. It's really down to knowing where to look and what button to push when, something we didn't have to do much of in the older airplanes. I don't want to get into much more detail since this isn't an aviation article but there is a point to this, martial arts-wise.

I took the ground school, spent some time with an instructor learning the systems, and then took the test. Sounds like working through some belt material, doesn't it? And that's my point.

I see how martial arts is a way of life, not just something you do two nights a week. It is a microcosm of daily living. If you want something, you can work for it and get it. That's whether it's an object, or a skill. I have found there is much value to constantly working toward new goals. It puts me back in the student's seat, which obviously gets me new knowledge, but also perspective. I get the boredom of talking heads, the excitement of new knowledge, the satisfaction of being able to apply that knowledge or skill.

Of course, it needs to of interest and relevant to my life as well to maximize the experience. I am taking an Air Force distance-learning course at this time. I'm working on my specialty track in Safety. It's a five-volume course and there's a lot of information in there that just isn't relevant to what I'll be doing in my job as a safety officer for the Civil Air Patrol. I just don't need to know how long the emergency cooling system in a Minuteman missle silo will work on emergency power. (It's six hours, in case you were wondering.) I learned that, I know that, but I'm pretty sure I will never need that information in the real world.

If you learned the Orange belt, the way it was originally structured, you probably won't need much more than that for "real-world" self-defense. There are so many rearrangements, opposite sides, and category completion techniques in the system that I have to say that information is for instructors. For Joe Average, who most likely will never get in a fight, Lone Kimono and Five Swords will get him by if he did. The rest is "extra"; nice to know, mental stimulation, good exercise, fun to do, confidence-building, and satisfying to know you passed your tests.

I guess I wanted you to know I'm down there in the trenches with you. I know about frustration, bad instructors, test anxiety, memorization, and all that. I don't look at myself as one of those people who got a high-level rank, who know it all, and who now get a "pass" on having to really do anything. Every day is a test of some sort. Every time you get on the mat, it's a test. You'll have your good days and bad days. Got test anxiety, butterflies in the stomach? Make them fly in formation! I passed my test, you can pass yours.