Island Taekwon-Do Centre 9.00am to  4:30pm November 27th 2009
Grading presided over by Master Daniel Sng 7th Degree Black Belt

For the Senior Black Belt Grading, the exam included patterns, pre-arranged sparring, foot sparring, self-defence techniques, up to 7 sets of physical exercises, theory, free-sparring & power tests.

Candidates for the Senior Black Belt grading:

1. Mr. Daniel Purcell (4th Degree)
2. Mr. Stephen Slater (2nd Degree)
3. Mr. Wu Jieming (2nd Degree)
4. Mr. Jeremy Tan (2nd Degree)
5. Ms. Chen Weiling (1st Degree)
6. Ms. Yuki Fung (1st Degree)
7. Mr. James Huang (1st Degree)
8. Ms. Nicole Yu (1st Degree)

For the Junior Black Belt Grading, a total of 5 candidates sat for the exam. Their exam consisted of patterns, pre-arranged sparring, 4 sets of physical exercises, theory & power tests.
Candidates for the Junior Black Belt grading:

1. Elliot Seow
2. Margan Shraeyas
3. Margan Sreshta
4. Ryan De Mello
5. Allyson Lim

There were plenty of nerves prior to the start of the grading, everyone knew they were in for a tough workout. And as expected Master Daniel Sng and Mr. Jonathan Sun did not disappoint us.

The highlights for the juniors included board breaking, which they were attempting for the first time; the advanced theory test and the tough physical exercise sets. Congratulations are in order for Elliot, Shraeyas, Shresta, Ryan and Allyson who all came through their grading with flying colours.

For most of the seniors the grading began with patterns and pre-arranged sparring. Then came the dreaded physical exercises. Stephen Slater soon found the twist with running on the spot blended into dynamic movement does not equal his favourite and well practiced sport of long distance running. We all realized quite soon that thirty minutes of intense aerobic exercise is not helpful when you are trying to conserve strength for additional exercises,  free-sparring and other events. More than a few of us experienced fire, aches and pains in muscles we never knew about before. The physical exercises were toughest for candidates Jeremy, Jieming, Weiling and Yuki who were  required to perform up to 7 sets of intensive exercises.

Later came the foot-sparring and self-defence techniques followed by the theory section. The theory section was fair chance for all where every candidate drew numbers out of the jar, most of us were caught out by at least one question.

The afternoon session started out with free-sparring for most of the candidates. There were some lively contests with a few warnings regarding control. For some candidates sparring with safety equipment was a new and unusual experience.

Finally in the afternoon the seniors, some the worse for wear, faced the final test of power breaking. Candidates were given from 10 to 20 tiles to break depending on their grading level. Stephen, Weiling and Yuki performed well in this event.  

Then came board breaking which was great fun for everyone. Jieming and Jeremy performed very well in this event. In the case of Jeremy and Danniel we were not always sure whether it was the boards or their bones which were being broken. Master Daniel Sng’s prior feat of a middle punch break of 4 boards was not to be equaled on this occasion.

Congratulations to the candidates all of whom successfully completed their grading on this day. Congratulations to Master Daniel Sng and Mr. Jonathan Sun for a well organized, professionally conducted and successful grading event.

This was a very enjoyable grading for everyone, tough but fair.
Finally our appreciation for the assisting instructors;
 

 
Their assistance and encouragement to the candidates ensured the occasion went smoothly. Their cheerful and selfless efforts in freely giving their time for this event reinforces the comraderie and positive environment of ITC Singapore.

Taekwon