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On January 23, 2016, our academy held our first black belt test for our five candidates. It was an exhausting 3 hours and 45 minutes of kung fu skill, endurance, strength, and perseverance. There was lots of sweat, a few tears, and sprains, but each and every one of them never gave up. Our candidates demonstrated they have the heart of a warrior. The candidates were tested in several categories: kicking skills, technical drills, hand forms, weapons, self-defense, sparring, board breaking, and a test of conditioning with 50 push-ups, 50 sit ups, 3-minute plank, and finally 3 minutes of horse stance. The Black Belt graduation ceremony was held onFebruary 6th. The ceremony started with the lighting of incense and wine offering to pay respect to the Chinese Warrior god, General Kwan Yu, also known as the Kwan Dai. Kwan Dai protects the establishment or home it is placed in. It is seen displayed in many kung fu schools and Chinese businesses. Each graduate came up to received their diploma and embroidered black belt, followed by the reading of their essay. Congratulations to: Ian Stark, Colby Woo, Julia Pearl-Styles, Jared Onoe, and Christian Chow! They truly deserved to be called our Fantastic Five! Their Kung fu journey now starts a new path to further their kung fu knowledge.
