As I judged today, I realized many things. One, people can surprise you with their ability and skills when they need to show it the most, and two, everyone as a whole has so many things that they need to work on, and three, there are many things that I have yet to learn, notice, pick up, and share. I was impressed by what many people have shown me, yet disappointed at how much better they could have done and my lack of ability to help them.

As a class, everyone needs to work on their stances. I noticed not just during the test, but during warm ups too. Some are too high, some are (oddly) too low, those who are higher ranked sometimes have their toes point out at the end of moves, and some who are low ranked hardly have stances at all. You might think that you have good stancework, but there's a rather large chance that there is something wrong with it. I was sad that I even saw some regression in people's stances (although other aspects have, in fact, improved). There is a reason that we practice stances time and time again. It is what separates us from others; it gives strength and stability. Try sparring once without using proper stancework. Try having someone push you during your form with crappy stances. Do you tip over? Do you feel weak? There is no point in doing any kind of martial arts if you do not have proper foundations, for the simple fact is that you really can't do much without them. Remember, just like anything else, this takes time to perfect, so don't be discouraged. Encourage others to work on stances. I believe that we as black belts should put aside more time to work together on stances, whether it's just sitting lower, or keeping your feet parallel transitioning from once stance to another. This goes especially for the kids. I was told that just practicing stancework will make you into a better fighter, even if everything else (to put it bluntly) sucks. As I got better, I found this to be true.

I also want to cover work ethic. In order to get better, you have to want to be better, have a goal to be not just good, but great. You can't control everything in life, but you can control more than you think. Being good at kung fu is one of them. You can't just tell yourself to work harder, you have to want it. To be the best. To be better than your peers. To help your peers get better. To be able to defend not yourself, but others, and have the confidence to go through your life knowing you have that power. It's OK to ask others to help you. There will be times where you'll need it, and as black belts, you should be prepared to to answer questions and help others, and be proud of the crop that you grow. Sometimes, it's slow progress; you might not even notice when you get better. Just plow on, because as long as you practice, there will always be something that you can benefit from.

Congratulations to everyone who took the test. Many people advanced to new ranks, and every one of your deserve it. There is always something to learn from taking the test and it's good to get opinions from so many high ranked instructors and black belts from the school. If you did well, don't just pat yourself on the back, think about why you did well, and how you can keep that up. Then, think about how you can maintain the skills you have now and how you can get better. For those who did not do so well, don't ask yourself why. Nobody cares why you did bad. Ask yourself how you can get better, and do it. I have seen amazing changes in people, and you can be the next feel-good story, but only if you want it.

I encourage everyone to keep practicing hard. Effort is never wasted. Congrats to new black belts, welcome to the big boys. Let's work hard to maintain our skills and continue helping others to become the best they can be.

By Assistant Instructor Marvin Go