Three students at Stevens Taekwondo Academy earned the rank of first dan black belt in testing at the YMCA Sunday.
Kim Sherwin and brother-sister duo Max and Riely Held demonstrated fifty kicks, the koryo and four taegeuk forms and sparred. Each
answered questions in oral examination on the history and o tenets f taekwondo. Sherwin smashed one boards with a switching front kick and another with a spinning side kick. Twelve-year-old Riely Held snapped her board with working crescent kick into a back spinning side kick. Ten-year-old Max Held cleanly split his board with a working roundhouse into a spinning hook kick.
Three of the thirty students testing for higher color belts earned trophies for excellence in testing. New green belt Benjamin Bondon won first place, high blue belt Nikolas Morey earned second place and blue belt Annika Polman took third place.
Kim Sherwin and brother-sister duo Max and Riely Held demonstrated fifty kicks, the koryo and four taegeuk forms and sparred. Each
answered questions in oral examination on the history and o tenets f taekwondo. Sherwin smashed one boards with a switching front kick and another with a spinning side kick. Twelve-year-old Riely Held snapped her board with working crescent kick into a back spinning side kick. Ten-year-old Max Held cleanly split his board with a working roundhouse into a spinning hook kick.Three of the thirty students testing for higher color belts earned trophies for excellence in testing. New green belt Benjamin Bondon won first place, high blue belt Nikolas Morey earned second place and blue belt Annika Polman took third place.
Grandmaster Dwight Stevens also recognized three long-time martial artists, presenting their sixth degree black belt certificates from the Kukkiwon, world headquarters for the sport. Senior masters Mark Henkel, James Henkel and Karen Johnson have trained with him for 20 years . Mark Henkel is Stevens’ assistant instructor at the YMCA classes, Johnson owns and operates Stevens Taekwondo Academy on Isadore Street, and James Henkel is the instructor for the Medical College of Wisconsin Taekwondo Club in Wauwatosa.
Other black belt activities:
Master Greg Dorn and Erin Dorn have expanded their family with the birth of Adelyn Michelle on April 30. Big brother Noah Dorn now has someone he outranks!
Master Noah Zimmerman and his wife also welcomed daughter Gabriella in May.
Masters Karen Johnson and Hilde Henkel presented another Simple Self-Defense workshop for local high school students heading for France. They practiced shouting "Non!" instead of "No!" and were reminded of simple safety tips for travelors inaddition to the usual simple escapes and precautions.
