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RSMA Black Belt Promotions

The semiannual Black Belt Test was held at Rising Sun Martial Arts in Newport recently. When the dust had settled, Myah Borcuk of Newport and Shayla Walsh of Sunapee were standing strong and receiving the black strips of cloth that symbolize the years of hard work and dedication that they’ve spent training, teaching and competing to get to this point.

In years past – and even now, in some schools – the journey to Black Belt was divided into three parts, symbolized by three belts: White Belt, Green Belt and Brown Belt. Think of them as a sort of elementary, middle and high school, with the Black Belt representing one’s high school diploma. As with formal education, some people quit before reaching this goal, some stop when they attain it, and some continue on to higher education. There are ten grades that lead up to Black Belt, and ten levels (or “degrees”) of Black Belt. And then there are Junior Grade Black Belts, which allow younger students to continue progressing even though international standards say they cannot be full Black Belts until the age of sixteen.

Shayla Walsh has been studying karate at RSMA since 2017. She holds the title of Shidoin (Apprentice Instructor) and was promoted to 2nd Degree Junior Black Belt.

Myah Borcuk has been training since 2016 and holds the title of Sempai (Assistant Instructor). She was promoted to 2nd Degree Adult Black Belt.

When one gets to a certain level in traditional karate, there is an expectation that one will “give back” to the art by passing it on to future generations. The techniques, the history, the philosophy are all part of karate training – it’s not just punching and kicking, but carries an ethical philosophy with it. In light of this, high-level Black Belt promotions are often based as much on one’s own performance as on the quality of one’s students.

At the recent Shidokan Invitational tournament in Londonderry, NH, Brent Baker was promoted to the level of 9th Degree Black Belt. Mr. Baker holds the title of Hanshi (Chief Grand Master Instructor) – the highest teaching grade in traditional karate. “Hanshi” can also mean “a good example” – something that Baker strives to be every day.

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