black belt

Testing for Nidan

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On Wednesday, July 20th, 2016, I tested for Nidan, along with another Nidan candidate, two Shodan candidates, and several brown belt candidates. The testing panel consisted of: John Dominguez, MD, Shodan Jim Mitchell, Shodan Richard Poage, Renshi, Godan Michael Newland, Renshi, Rokudan Jeff Allred, Renshi, Rokudan Eddie Bethea, Kyoshi, Hachidan The Shodan candidates had to complete a written exam, which […]

The Shodan Slump

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As of the writing of this article, I have only been training for a little over 8.5 years, and I only just earned my shodan (1st degree black belt) last Summer. Even so, I’ve seen and heard of so many instances of the “shodan slump” to know that it’s real, and I feel grateful that I have managed to avoid […]

Shodan Achieved! 2

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Cameron (L) and I taking our written tests On Saturday, July 26th, 2014, I tested for shodan (1st degree black belt) under my Sensei, Richard Poage (Yondan). Also on my testing panel was Jeff Allred (Rokudan), Danny Bowley (Sandan), and Jim Mitchell (Shodan). I wasn’t the only one testing; three of our teen students were testing for brown belt, and […]