Success!
Peter took his 4th kyu test this morning, and selected me as his uke.
Sensei only said "pass" at the end, and the class applauded heartily, but from where I was (trying to strike him) he nailed it. Same speed as me, blending instead of clashing, pins on point, and his control of maai after throws actually had me a bit nervous - I never felt like I was standing up alone.
Sensei's commentary to Peter afterward highligted two points - for kyu ranks, it's acceptable for both hands to go to the elbow together at the start of ikkyo (I think this would be very difficult at high speed, but it highlights "control the elbow"), and for katadori nikkyo, it's a really good idea to bring the front foot close in after moving the back foot. Leaving it out makes turning more difficult during the rest of the technique, and also exposes your knee to a kick.
After class, a handful of students did weapons maintainance. We inspected all bokken and jo (except for The Big Branch) for gouges and splinters, and sanded as necessary - initally with 100 grit, then 220 grit sandpaper. This may have been as hard as the class. We then applied a mixture of linseed oil and tung tree oil to all the weapons and left them leaning over a dropcloth to dry overnight. Bryan brought donuts and coffee, bless his heart!
