Testing our mettle at the Independent Karate School

This Saturday, we will have an exciting event at the Independent Karate School.  Our most recent class of beginners, students who started with us in the late summer or early fall, will be taking their test for the rank of orange belt.

It's always a special occasion at our school when white belts receive their first promotion.  It's not easy to start taking karate.  There seems to be so much to learn, and so much to try to get right.  We're very proud of our students when they stay with us with us long enough to make a true beginning in the art.  More importantly, you can see the pride they feel in themselves, when their test is over and they stand up before everyone to receive that orange belt. 

Why do we give a formal test?  Partly because our students need to know that they deserve their new rank.  They have something to prove not so much to the Independent Karate School, as to themselves.

Rank exams also serve an important function for our instructors.  If something doesn't go so well, the instructor running the test will do some teaching right then and there, or make a note that something needs more emphasis in future classes.  In this way, a test for students going up in rank is also a test of our instructional program.  The feedback is invaluable for making sure that we cover a large curriculum thoroughly and consistently, so that our students get their due.

This is not to say that belt tests are easy: ask any pale, sweaty, candidate on the morning of their exam!  But they are hard in a good way, and it is all for a purpose.      

Would your child like to join our next set of beginners?  Come visit any scheduled class, no prior arrangements are necessary!  Classes in Merrimack meet every Tuesday and Thursday evening at 6 at the VFW post near the Common Man (a complete schedule is available on our website, www.independentkarateschool.com).  Hope to see you there!