Women endure test for higher black belt

Outlaw Martial Arts Taekwondo School has two new second-degree black belts and a new third-degree black belt.

Sherri Hermans, Tammy Haynes and Kristina Trahern tested for second-degree black belt on Saturday, August 13.

Master Marty Kaczmarek, founder and instructor of Outlaw Martial Arts, conducted the testing at the training room in the Coffield Center. The test, a grueling 2-1/2 hours of poomsae, board breaking, and sparring was the culmination of many years of training for these women.

Sherri Hermans began training in Taekwondo at SOAR Taekwondo in 1998, along with her two children. All three were awarded their black belts in 2003. Sherri continued her training until the school was shut down in 2008. When Outlaw Martial Arts opened in October of last year, Hermans resumed her training and has become an assistant instructor there.

Tammy Haynes also began her martial arts training in 1998 at SOAR Taekwondo along with her two daughters. She earned her first-degree black belt but, when the school shut down, she stopped training. After a layoff for several years she resumed her martial arts training earlier this year.

Kristina Trahern has been training in Taekwondo since 2002 and was awarded her first-degree black belt in 2005. Her brother is also a Taekwondo black belt. Kristina is a student at Arizona State University, and while at school trains there. In the summer she is a student of Master K.

For the vast majority of martial arts students, earning a black belt is their goal and the end of their martial arts training. First-degree black belt is really just the end of "basic training" in the art and the beginning of another phase of learning.

Going beyond first-degree black belt takes a tremendous amount of dedication. The martial artist is responsible for memorizing and performing everything all of the color belts do plus the complicated, technical skills required of black belts.

Judging the testing along with Master K were two luminaries in the martial arts community. Husband and wife Masters Jim and Adrian Null own and operate Family Kicks, a Taekwondo school in Beaverton, and are both World Taekwondo Federation International Poomsae referees. Each has a long list of impressive credentials.

Master Adrian Null, a fourth-degree black belt, is the youngest WTF International Referee in the world and the 2009 U.S. National Champion.

Master Jim Null, a sixth-degree black belt, is a longtime friend and instructor of Master K and is the 2011 U.S. National Champion in poomsae.

The test began with the three candidates performing, together and individually, 10 different poomsae.

Poomsae is a series of defensive, counter and offensive techniques; blocks, kicks and punches, performed in a specific sequence and pattern. Along with sparring, poomsae is a major component of the Taekwondo art.

Next each candidate, using a partner as an "attacker," demonstrated self-defense techniques designed to defend against different physical confrontation situations.

The next stage of the test was board-breaking. Each of the women demonstrated skill in different striking and kicking techniques, and the power generated by those techniques, by breaking one or more inch-thick pine boards.

The last phase of the test is sparring. Outlaw Taekwondo is affiliated with the World Taekwondo Federation, which governs the sport of Taekwondo. Sparring is full-contact "Olympic-style," with headgear and chest protectors.

Olympic-style sparring is an extremely fast and exhausting exercise in which the competitors score points with strikes and kicks to "legal areas" on their opponent that result in "jarring impact." The sparring for this test was against one opponent, and then as many as three against one.

An awards ceremony immediately followed the test, with the three battleworn but triumphant ladies receiving certificates of achievement. Haynes and Trahern were presented with certificates designating them as having the rank of second-degree black belt.

As a very emotional end of the ceremony, Master Kaczmarek, citing the hundreds of hours of class training and the self-sacrificing dedication as an assistant instructor, and with the approval of the World Taekwondo Federation, presented to Ms. Hermans the certificate of achievement for the rank of third-degree black belt.