On August 15, 2008, I conducted a large black belt grading for several of my long-time students. Rick Robson and Kurtis Cote were promoted to 1st Degree Black Belt (Junior Instructor), and Brent Fowler, John McDonald, Evan Wiley, Jesse Toth, Craig Cote, and Janel Cote were promoted to 2nd Degree Black Belt (Assistant Instructor). Rick Robson and Kurtis Cote became my 19th and 20th black belts I have promoted since opening my Kenpo Karate school in 1995. The test was 2 ½ hours in duration and consisted of forms, sets, self-defense techniques, and continuous sparring. Myself, and two of my other 2nd Degree black belts, Matt Trejo and Scott Southwell, sat on the testing panel.
Each of the candidates made very unique contributions to the testing. Brent Fowler and Evan Wiley’s self-defense techniques and sparring matches still have people talking. Rick Robson and Janel Cote’s improvement and tenacity in only one year’s time was evident. Rick Robson is truly a force to reckon with in sparring. Janel and her brother Craig performed a virtually flawless Coordination Set 2, not to mention Janel’s amazing Long Form 2. Craig Cote also demonstrated how deadly Kenpo Karate kicks can be during fighting. Kurtis Cote’s power almost made the whole building shake, and his sparring ability was noted many times by others. John McDonald helped set the standard for how Kenpo forms and sets should look with his impressive basics, fluidity, balance, speed, and power. John’s techniques were also close to flawless. Jesse Toth’s determination and focus during the test was just unbelievable. Particularly noteworthy were Jesse’s strong sets, forms, and sparring fights.
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