Karate Test Day

Congratulations to Ian!
4th Place Winner, USU Jr. Karate Tournament
28 April 2007

It started out as a usual Karate Test day for the Kyu Shin Ryu Chapter at USU. The children met at 8:00 a.m., paid their fees, warmed up, reviewed the test material, and then took their individual belt tests. Ian was well-prepared and earned his blue belt with no trouble.

Erin was very proud of him and cheered him on the entire time. Ian's good friend, Andrew, also earned his blue belt.

After a short break and snacks, the sparring sessions began. Ian won his first match, and then later he won his second match. By the fourth match, things were getting a bit more suspenseful for his parents because he was working his way up the winners' list. Before we knew it, he was one of the four finalists! He then sparred with classmate Taggart, and it was close--first Taggart scored, then Ian, then Taggart, then Ian again. The winner is the first to score three points, and Taggart got his third point first. Then Ian had his final match (to determine 3rd and 4th place winners) with an older and much larger blue belt student named Dillon. Ian got pushed down pretty hard, and it knocked the wind out of him. However, he got back up and did his best to finish the match, earning 4th place. He was so excited! He was awarded a nice trophy which he has been carrying around ever since.

Ian and classmate Taggart, who won 2nd place

A proud Ian with his first trophy!