On Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008, I tested for my black belt for Karate America Evansville.
When I joined Karate America, I had just received my black belt from another school. I now had to go through the training at Karate America to be certified as a black belt in their organization. It took about 1.5 years to complete this training. If I would have started as a white belt at Karate America, the program would have taken at least 4 years to complete.
Here is what I had to do to get my black belt. First, I had to learn basic skills like sidekicks, palm heels, punches and forms. The first form's name is Journey. It has four different stages that make one complete form. The stages are learned at four different belt colors: white, gold, orange and green. It takes about six months to get all those belts. Next, I had to learn harder skills like spin kicks, elbow strikes and jump kicks. It was hard learning these skills. There also is a form named Freedom. There are three belt colors that this form is learned: Purple, blue, and blue strip.
Next I had to learn advanced skills like tornado kicks, weapons, grappling and self defense. Grappling is like wrestling, only you start on the ground. The form for the next belts is Odyssey. It is the longest form. The belts that do this form are red and red stripe. It is really hard doing that form.
After red stripe, I moved to brown and brown stripe, where I continued to work on the skills that I had already learned. At every belt, we learned more than just kicking and punching. We also learned about honesty, integrity, perseverance, self-confidence and respect.
Then it comes to the candidate class. We had to work an extra hour on Mondays and Wednesdays for about 3 months. We continued to work and polish our skills, developed a personal form, and worked on physical conditioning. After about six weeks, we had to complete the physical fitness portion of the class that consisted of running 2 miles, doing pushups, and situps.
During this time, I practiced at home several times a week to work on my personal form and other skills. I then went for my black belt. I tested with another person named Karen Welhal.
There were nine black belts on the panel. I was a little nervous, but I thought to myself "I can do it" and I did it! First we had to do our personal form to music. Then we had to do the forms and skill combinations we learned in class. Next, two helpers came up and we did pad kicking, X-Ray paper kicking, and grappling. Then our instructor, fourth-degree black belt Hans Paulson, came out and we did boxing. Then I did my advanced combinations. Finally, I sparred with six black belts one-on-one in 1.5-minute rounds. This was to test my perseverance. It was hard, but I made it through. That's how I earned my black belt!
When I joined Karate America, I had just received my black belt from another school. I now had to go through the training at Karate America to be certified as a black belt in their organization. It took about 1.5 years to complete this training. If I would have started as a white belt at Karate America, the program would have taken at least 4 years to complete.
Here is what I had to do to get my black belt. First, I had to learn basic skills like sidekicks, palm heels, punches and forms. The first form's name is Journey. It has four different stages that make one complete form. The stages are learned at four different belt colors: white, gold, orange and green. It takes about six months to get all those belts. Next, I had to learn harder skills like spin kicks, elbow strikes and jump kicks. It was hard learning these skills. There also is a form named Freedom. There are three belt colors that this form is learned: Purple, blue, and blue strip.
Next I had to learn advanced skills like tornado kicks, weapons, grappling and self defense. Grappling is like wrestling, only you start on the ground. The form for the next belts is Odyssey. It is the longest form. The belts that do this form are red and red stripe. It is really hard doing that form.
After red stripe, I moved to brown and brown stripe, where I continued to work on the skills that I had already learned. At every belt, we learned more than just kicking and punching. We also learned about honesty, integrity, perseverance, self-confidence and respect.
Then it comes to the candidate class. We had to work an extra hour on Mondays and Wednesdays for about 3 months. We continued to work and polish our skills, developed a personal form, and worked on physical conditioning. After about six weeks, we had to complete the physical fitness portion of the class that consisted of running 2 miles, doing pushups, and situps.
During this time, I practiced at home several times a week to work on my personal form and other skills. I then went for my black belt. I tested with another person named Karen Welhal.
There were nine black belts on the panel. I was a little nervous, but I thought to myself "I can do it" and I did it! First we had to do our personal form to music. Then we had to do the forms and skill combinations we learned in class. Next, two helpers came up and we did pad kicking, X-Ray paper kicking, and grappling. Then our instructor, fourth-degree black belt Hans Paulson, came out and we did boxing. Then I did my advanced combinations. Finally, I sparred with six black belts one-on-one in 1.5-minute rounds. This was to test my perseverance. It was hard, but I made it through. That's how I earned my black belt!