Three Shuri Ryu students were promoted Saturday, Nov. 8, after a two-hour exam that included a physical exam (1-mile run, 500 front kicks, 5-minutes punch/backfist, 300 situps) along with a technical exam that included stances, blocks, punches and kicks as well as various waza (ippons, kihons, taezus) along with kata (Tai Kyoku I-2-3, Wansu, Anaku, Naihanchi, Sanchin) that also included bunkai (interpretation of the kata against attackers), self-defense and sparring, among other things. The three students who advanced were Tori Menner (yellow belt), Emily “Oak” Boyce (blue belt) and Karis Johnson (green belt). The exam was overseen by one of our black belts, Sam Johnson, who is readying for his nidan (second-degree black belt) exam along with fifth-degree black belts Thomas Seastrunk and Charlotte Bryant as well as seventh-degree black belt and Shuri Ryu chief instructor Rick Scoppe. All three students did an excellent job on the exam, toughing through the physical, which took about 40 minutes, as well as the various technical aspects of our system. Congratulations! Below is a photo of all who were involved in the test at the Midlands School of Martial Arts:
Proud to be part of this school!