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| Masters Mark & HIlde Henkel with black belt Malek Alksrawi |
More than a dozen students of Stevens Taekwondo Academy YMCA
earned promotion to higher belt ranks after a recent testing, and one student
achieved a life-time ambition of a black belt.
Malec Alkasrawi attained full first dan black belt status
after vigorous testing, which included sparring and advanced kick combinations,
an oral exam on the history and practice of taekwondo and demonstration of koryo and four taegeuk forms. Alkasrawi also broke a board with a working
step back spinning side kick. He stated
that it has been
his goal since he was 10 years old to earn a black belt.
Corinne Milovanovic earned her bo dan, deputy black belt, last
night, as she returned from an injury and completed her testing, which included
advanced sparring and kick combinations and performance of five taegeuk
forms. She smashed her board on the first
attempt with a working step spinning side kick.
The testing was judged by head instructors Mark and Hilde
Henkel and Master Karen Johnson head instructor for Stevens Taekwondo: A New Way of Life.
Other News
This testing also marked the first time for the third
generation of the Henkel family to test as six-year-old Rowan and eight-year-old Rhiannon Henkel earned their yellow stripe as high white belts. They happily announced they were trained by Master Dr. James Henkel. His son, four-year-old Caleb, worked out with the white belts two nights also.