Black Belt Success for Keira

A young martial arts student has been celebrating this week on reaching the rank of Black Belt in the Korean Martial Art, Taekwondo. Keira Madden from Cam is a student at the Ilyokwan Black Belt Academy, based at Cam Everlands School, where she trains under the expert guidance of her instructor, 5th Dan Black Belt, Master Richard Olpin.

Master Olpin told us “Keira is one of the youngest students we’ve ever had to reach Black Belt. She is still only ten years old but she has been training for nearly five years now and during that time she has set an excellent example to the other children. We’re all very proud of her. At her age, Keira’s rank is still considered a junior belt, but it is still a fantastic achievement that marks a very significant stage in her Martial Arts career.

Many people assume that the Black Belt is the pinnacle of the martial arts, yet in many ways it is just a beginning. I guess the analogy that most people could relate to is learning to drive. When you start out you’re really just learning to pass the test and it’s not until you’ve proven you can handle the basics that you can take off your ‘L’ plates and really start to enjoy your driving. That’s very much what it’s like to get your Black Belt. You’ve proven you can handle the responsibility, and it’s like your dad giving you the keys to your first car - then the real fun begins! To date we’ve had 25 of our students promoted to black belt or higher and have seven more due to test next year. That includes five more of our junior members who should all be testing together in September which is going to be an excellent way to celebrate our 15th Birthday, since I started in the school in September 1995.