Test preparation
Intro
As with any other type of test, you must prepare for the test properly. Remember: proper prior preparation prevents piss poor performance.
Start early
Prepare to take your next promotion test as soon as possible after you meet the minimum time in rank requirements of your organization, and you can properly perform the required techniques.
- Do not wait to be told to test
- Do not ask to test; your instructor will tell you when he or she thinks you are ready.
- Do not let other students discourage you from testing.
- Do not listen to the advice of anyone other than your instructor unless the other person is someone whose opinion you respect.
- Being prepared and confident in your abilities is a part of testing requirements.
- Assume your skills are at the required level unless your instructor tells you differently.
- Your instructor should be giving you input on your status as the test date approaches.
Failure is a possibility
Expect to pass the test but accept the fact that sometimes you may not advance. Take some time to accept the failure and then get back at it. Make sure you understand why you did not advance and work especially hard to ensure the problem is corrected. Failure may hurt your ego, but not your billfold since most organizations will permit you to continue to test for the same rank until you advance, without paying another testing fee.
Don't stress out
As you near the actual test date, expect your instructor to get more "nit-picky." Just before tests, instructors tend to get more serious, sterner, and less humorous. Tests not only judge your skill improvement; they also judge your instructor's ability to help you gain improvement. Therefore, your instructor wants you to do your best at the test for it shows he or she has done his or her job correctly.
Your instructor may increase your training intensity and become hypercritical in the days before a test. This helps ensure you will do your best at the test, but it also helps the instructor decide whether you should even be allowed to take the test. The instructor is testing your resolve, to see if you are ready for the next belt level.
Do not take the increased training and criticism "personally" and get "stressed." The instructor is doing it for your own good. Take the criticism to heart and use it for self-improvement. After the test, your instructor will return to his or her old self. Many times, the first couple of weeks of training after a test are more relaxed than usual. Then the cycle starts all over again.
Ensure you know exactly how the test will progress. Practice all the procedures so you will be confident even when under the stress of the test. Know the procedure to use when you screw up a pattern and must stop. Be prepared for all contingencies. Your instructor will tell you most everything you need to know before a test but try to anticipate problems you may have and ask your instructor what you should do in those circumstances.
Don't change your routine
Do not change your daily routine before a test, such as starting a diet or changing sleep patterns. Do not start something new or stop something old the week before a test, such as adding more exercise or stopping smoking.
Load carbs
Eat plenty of complex carbohydrates the night before a test, such as pasta. Eat a light meal just before a test, keeping in mind when you will need the energy.
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