The Black Belt Test

First of all, let me say that Scout passed his Black Belt Test (Poom Belt - generally referred to as the Jr. Black Belt - it's a Black Belt for people under the age of 15)...

We arrived in Fargo the night before the big Test Day and found the Do-Jang...

Then bright and early Saturday morning we registered Scout for his test. There were about 15 Poom Belt examinees and 2 Poom Belts testing for 1st Degree Black Belt (they'd just turned 15), 3 Adult 1st Degree Black Belt examinees, and 1 Adult 2nd Degree Black Belt and 1 Adult 3rd Degree Black Belt examinee - so the Do-Jang (gym) was pretty full...

....I loved their archway - "A Black Belt is a White Belt That Never Gave Up"...

...first on the agenda was the written test - Scout certainly looks like he's concentrating - he said it was easy - compared to the practice test that I gave him...

...There were several 'stations' to the physical test - the first was Sit-ups - Scout did 57 in one minute...

...next up were Push-Ups - Scout did 52 - but his chin didn't touch the hand underneath him on one so he only got credit for 51 - in one minute...

...then a flexibility test - Scout scored 25 - I think that must be Centimeters reach beyond the toes - I didn't actually the see the measuring gadget...

...Then a Standing Long Jump...

...Scout nailed the landing at 5'5" - He's only 4'8...

...The Kicking Drills were pretty intense - they had to stand on one foot and kick a belt high pad with the other then without putting that foot down - kick a chest high pad with the same foot - then switch and do the same thing on the other side - Scout's count was 41 in 60 seconds...

...Then they lined up for the big run - they had to run for 12 minutes...

...The Home Stretch - We had been running together for a few weeks before the test - so Scout did fine here - it wasn't a distance thing - just run for 12 minutes...

Scout was thrilled to pass his test - we'll go back for the Extravaganza in July - and he'll show off some of his best moves and then be awarded his Black Belt.

Parents are definitely 'Personae Non Gratae' at the test - we were 'allowed' to watch only the physical and written test portions - all of the afternoon was off limits - so I have no pictures of his patterns/drills/etc or his board breaks - there were 5 consecutive ones - a Palm Smash/Forearm Smash/Front Kick/Side Kick/Back Roundhouse - then the big run and jump over 4 people to break a board (that one we kept and had signed by the Master Instructor)