On Saturday, August 13, students of SKC and Tucker’s Tang Soo Do (Elberta, AL) participated in the annual Fall Cycle Dan Pre-test at Strahan’s Karate Center, Poplarville, MS. The Pre-test is a grueling examination of the Black belt candidate’s mental and physical endurance and preparedness for the Region Six Dan test held every Fall cycle in September. This year’s Dan test and Regional Championship will be held on September 16-17 on the campus of the University of North Alabama, Florence, AL.
Candidates were subjected to a thorough workout, performing forms, basic blocks, punches and kicks, as well as advanced techniques, rolls and falls, weapons forms and the standard calisthenics required for the rank. Those who pass the pre-test are then eligible for Dan testing at the regional event next month. Our own SKC students E Dan Adrienne Tucker and Cho Dan Joey Polk were successful, and will now be testing for their advanced ranks in just a few weeks.
Following the Pre-test, four new Cho Dan (1st degree Black Belts) were awarded their ranks in a special Black Belt ceremony held in the dojang. Our congratulations go out to SKC students Samuel Bond, Jeremy Johnston, Susan Starke and Micah Lewis on their promotions! All Black Belts in attendance renewed their own Black Belt oaths, along with the new Cho Dans, during the ceremony. The Black Belt oath is a solemn statement of ethics and loyalty one’s studio, instructor, grandmaster and the World Tang Soo Do Association, and is the core of the value system of the Black Belt.
Photographs of the event are posted in the photo album section of the website and on our Facebook page “Strahan’s Karate Center”. We wish our Dan candidates much success at the Fall test next month. Tang SOO!
