Promotion Day!

Whew. Yesterday was the big day...that we've been working toward since March. Micah officially earned and received his black belt!!

Technically, the belt was earned during the two testing nights so the promotion was an opportunity to show off what the candidates know for family and friends...which means, for Micah at least, it was considerably more fun. :) 

Here are some pictures...(I haven't gotten through all of them yet)...

Throughout the promotion, they ran through a sampling of everything the candidates tested on. This was Micah doing his musical form.

Between things, the demo team also performed. (Here are Asher and Micah doing the universal bo form.)

I don't have pictures (yet) of the forms and combinations and one steps and grab defenses. But here's Asher and Micah sparring. (They did five one minute rounds during the promotion (rotating so that each boy got a break every so often) instead of the six two minute rounds during the testing (without a break). Micah says it was considerably more fun, lol.)

And, at the end, they had simultaneous matches of each candidate spar against his older, black belt sibling...which was quite entertaining:

And, finally, new uniforms and belts were awarded:

Hugging Mrs. Yee:

...and, as he moved down the line of black belts to be congratulated, getting lifted and hugged by Asher:

(I have to interject here that I'm so delighted by the bond these two boys have...such good brothers and true friends!)

A quick family picture:

And a very smiley Micah once we got home (having immediately tried on the pants to go with the rest of the uniform):

Ta da!!

A giant thank you to all who've helped and encouraged along the way!!

(In case you're wondering, we're in no way done with karate. Both Asher & Micah will continue to go on a regular basis...now learning the black belt forms and whatnot and working toward that second degree black belt down the road. So very appreciative of all we have gained and continue to gain through our experience at Karate West!)