Kicking Ass and Taking Names

Today the kid got her junior black belt.

We are really proud of her. She has been studying for more than 7 years now, and it is a pretty big day, made even more poignant by the fact she is currently on leave from active workouts on doctors orders. She is in physical therapy and working her way back.

In her art the belts and degrees are:

white
yellow
yellow first degree
yellow second degree
green
green first degree
green second degree
green third degree
brown
brown first degree
brown second degree
brown third degree
brown fourth degree
black (then 8 degrees until Master)

Her belt is a junior black belt, but is well deserved. She is the first kid at her school to ever get one, and in general in her art kids are not given black belts. She works out with the adults too, and in that class she is ranked green. In her art nobody under the age of 16 can be given an adult black belt, period.

It was a very special day, as several people she has known a long time also got promotions today. One boy, who is really a young man now, got his black belt. He used to live near us so his parents and I would switch off carpooling to class. Now he drives himself. He has turned into an amazing fighter. I love to watch him kick ass out there. Such far cry from when he was first allowed into the adult class.

Two of our good friends got promotions too. One who we introduced to the school, got his black belt today. The second, that person introduced to the school. He got his green belt. A green belt for the adults is a big deal in the art. It is considered technically a professional, which means legally they are expected to have control over their actions and are responsible for them.

Two guys got their second degree black belts today. These are guys I have known for years and years now. One has become a good friend of the family through the school. It is always so great to see them kicking some serious ass out there. Love it. I wish I could get better shots of the action, but the lighting there is piss poor.

All in all, a big day.

Congratulations to all.

Just a few small pics for fun, more will be available on flickr later.