Martial Arts Family Fitness (MAFF), a family-owned and operated school dedicated to improving lives through martial arts, announced today that Master Dave Wheaton oversaw the testing of four students for black belts in the art of Dynamic Circle Hapkido. The black belt exam and promotion took place at the Santa Barbara school’s facility at 122 E Gutierrez Street on Saturday.
“Four deserving students were able to demonstrate their knowledge of Hapkido this past Saturday,” said Dave Wheaton, founder and owner of Martial Arts Family Fitness. “All have worked exceedingly hard to reach this goal. Saturday was a very special day for them and their families.”
“This class of black belts has one adult and two youth students that tested for their first degree black belt, or ‘dan’, and one adult that tested for her second ‘dan’,” added Melodee Meyer, co-owner of Martial Arts Family Fitness. “All of our students train through a rigorous curriculum, and prepare physically and mentally for this day. We are different from many other schools as there is no difference in the black belt earned by an adult or youth student.”
In order to test for their black belt students must exhibit proficiency in various areas of study, including basics (hand strikes and kicks), self defense techniques, takes downs and throw forms, and sparring, including individual and multiple attacker scenarios. “For many of our students the black belt is only the beginning of a life-long journey,” added Mr. Wheaton. “As a black belt each student is encouraged to continue practicing and making the art their own.”
The students that tested and received their first black belt are:
Miles Snow, 11 years old
Travis Pierces, 11 years old
Kevin Ruiz, a senior at San Marcos High School
Elizabeth Schwyzer is tested and received for her second dan.
