Four will test for black belts in Sisters

Four Sisters TaeKwonDo students are hoping to soon take a step up the black belt ladder. Grand master David Chaanine will be conducting a belt testing on May 4-5. All are invited to gather at Sisters Organization for Activities and Recreation (SOAR) to cheer the students along.

Victoria Graves, SOAR's TaeKwonDo instructor, is testing to be promoted to her third dan, the Korean word for degree. High school junior Josh Marr, last year high school graduate James (Jet) Cowan and Bob Stark, an assistant instructor in SOAR's program, are all hoping to attain their second dans.

Grand master Chaanine, who himself is a seventh degree black belt and the founder of the Lebanese-American TaeKwonDo Federation (LATF), is coming from San Diego, accompanied by six of his black belts, to test the four students.

According to Graves, grand master Chaanine trains with one of the first generation Korean masters. He took TaeKwonDo to Lebanon and is considered the father of TaeKwonDo in Lebanon.

"Once you become a black belt, then you are promoted by degrees all the way up to ninth degree," Graves said.

As a rule of thumb a person must train the number of years for the degree he or she is trying to master.

"Once you become a first degree, you are basically starting over," Graves said.

Going through the color belts is compared to going through boot camp.

"Once you become a black belt, then the training really begins," Graves said.

Training for the various levels involves much more than simply showing up for class. A student must truly be involved in the program, working on his or her leadership skills.

Graves runs the SOAR program under the guidance of local master Kirk Shanahan.

"He comes and helps out with the program probably once a month right now," Graves said.

SOAR offers classes four days a week for beginners through more advanced students. Participants range in age from five to over 60. Currently, approximately 40 individuals are participating in the program.

"It's a traditional martial arts program that works with each student individually at their own pace to instill respect and self-control, discipline, courtesy, basic human desires for a well rounded individual.

It takes most students two-and-a-half to three years to go through the color belt stages and be ready to start training for the first degree black belt.

"I have been working on this for six to seven years; it takes a lot of time to get to this level," said Marr.

The belt colors have significance beyond just identifying the level of skill for the adherent.

"The main colors are very symbolic in Korean history," Graves said.

The white belt is symbolic of purity. The yellow belt is the soil in which the seed is planted. The green belt is the seed planted and beginning to grow. The blue belt is the growing plant reaching toward heaven, and the red belt is a sign of danger.

"At that level a student is learning a lot of things but does not have a whole lot of maturity. The red belt is a real critical stage in training," said Graves.

SOAR has added in-between belts to help their students progress, as it often takes a long time to advance from one belt to the next.

"Like a white with a yellow stripe would be in-between a white belt and a yellow belt," Graves said.

Students learn to conduct their lives in accord with the tenets of TaeKwonDo: courtesy; self-control; integrity; indomitable spirit; perseverance; and modesty.

An all-school seminar and demonstration is planned for all SOAR TaeKwonDo students on Saturday morning, May 5. The testing will take place after the seminar.

On Sunday a hike is planned and a family style dinner is scheduled at Coyote Creek Café.

"The grand master doesn't come up here very often, so it's an opportunity for our students to bond with him," Graves said.

For more information call SOAR at 549-2091.