IMPACT MARTIAL ARTS SEMINAR PAGE

17th November 2007 - Our next round of black belt gradings have again come around, with six students going for their first degree black belt. All of these six students have been training with us for around 4 to 5 years now, and they were now ready for our gruelling black belt grading.

We consider our black belt grading to be amongst the hardest of black belt gradings that could be taken, this is based upon the fact that all of the senior instructors have completed these, and a number of other black belts in various other martial arts clubs and styles, and we all agree that this is one of the hardest that we have ever taken.

All this aside, these six students have trained long and hard for many years now to achieve the ultimate goal within martial arts, and have spent many hours practising each and every one of the 150 techniques that make up the black belt grading, at the same time not forgetting to continue practising the techniques learnt from all of the previous 9 belts that they have taken.

They all worked extremely hard, and put 110% effort for every single one of the techniques required, despite the gruelling grading they were going through.

Each student had to perform the practical side of the grading (the kicks, the punches, the self defence techniques) plus a written aspect, which is also required as part of the grading.

There were x3 senior instructors who carried out the gradings for these x6 students, who have also spent the last 5 years working and training with these students. The criteria set for passing the grading is not determined by the grading examiner, and each grading examiner marks each technique based upon speed, power, control, execution of the technique, and overall presentation of that technique.

As per all of our gradings, all students were told that they had a 50/50 chance of passing this grading, and we have absolutely no concerns with failing 1 or all of the students who were taking the grading on that day, as each technique is marked and scored, which would then be totalled up to determine whether they had passed or not.

Luckily we didn't have to fail anyone on this day, and each student put in so much hard work and effort over the last 5 years, I don't think that any of them had anything else on their mind other than passing this grading, which all of them did with a pass grade of an A (best possible mark available)

Like I have mentioned before on other pages of this web site, we take our gradings very seriously, and only people who are committed and really understand what achieving a black belt means, will wear one of ours around their waist, we don't give ours away, or offer meaningless deals to get your black belt in 10 minutes, we want people to get their black belt when they have really worked for and earned it, that way we hope it means that little bit more to the people who wear it.

I would like to thank both of the senior instructors who gave up a lot of their time to carry out these examinations, Gary Davis and Kev Brown, thank you both very much for all your time and assistance, without which this would not have been possible.

And I would also like to thank the students who took their grading, Andy Livingstone, Cameron Slaven, Dereck Slaven, Jake Evans, Natasha Slaven and Simon Iwaniszyn, all of which are now 1st degree black belts.

Each of these students thoroughly deserve to wear a black belt around their waist, and I believe that these students are amongst the best 1st degree black belts I have ever had the pleasure of teaching and working with, their hard work and dedication week in, week out certainly shows when they are training in the lessons, and I am proud to have them training with me.