Essays by Black Belt Recommended Students
Students at Challenge Martial Arts who are recommended to test for their Black Belt write an essay as part of their work toward their Black Belt test. Below is a list of the essays written by the students who have been awarded their Black Belt at CMA. Click the title of the essay to download the PDF document.
2024 New Black Belts
Friday, May 31, four more Challenge Martial Arts' students were awarded their first degree Black Belt. Each of these students, the four in the middle in this photo, are amazing students of the Art and also have many interests in their lives. Over the past few years they focused on their Art and met the challenge completing the study of ten color-belt levels, then going on to complete the intense Recommended training and passing a grueling two-day test. We are proud of your accomplishment, your love of your families and your leadership in the community.
2024 Alaska Open Tournament
Saturday, May 11, thirteen Martial Arts students from Challenge Martial Arts (not all are pictured here) attended the Alaska Open Martial Arts tournament in Anchorage sponsored by Okamoto's Karate.
They brought home twenty-four medals (not all pictured). Competition was stiff, but these students were confident and performed really well.
We Moved! But not too far.
December 30, 2023, Challenge Martial Arts opened a new facility located right next door to our first studio. Unit D in the Nikishka Mall is
a 4800 sq ft facility built from a shell of a building into a stunning studio, colorful and fun, yet outfitted to bring out top performance in students.
The build was completed in nine months and included construction of 2,060 sq ft of mat space, 600 linear feet of walls, an arctic entry, classroom, kitchen,
changing rooms, office space and storage all with brand new plumbing, heating, electrical and lighting with triple the spectator space of our first studio.
CMA encourages you to come visit our new space, and maybe sign up for a free week of classes.
Click the video below to see a brief tour.
2023 Kenai Peninsula Open Tournament
Saturday, September 9, forty-six Martial Arts students from Challenge Martial Arts, Alaska Shidokan Dojo and Okamnoto's
Karate attended the Kenai Peninsula Open Martial Arts tournament in
Nikiski, AK. Forty-five medals were awarded. Twelve Challenge Martial Arts students placed
in at least one of the divisions that they entered taking home a total of 20 medals. Almost 70 spectators
from all over the Peninsula enjoyed the show as we had four demonstrations.
We especially enjoyed seeing the differences in styles all competing together.
Next year's tournament will be bigger with more divisions, so stay tuned for more details.
2023 Alaska Open Tournament
Saturday, May 10, nineteen Martial Arts students from Challenge Martial Arts (not all are pictured here) attended the Alaska Open Martial Arts tournament in Anchorage sponsored by Okamoto's Karate.
They brought home thirty-eight medals. Many of these students had competed in our 2022 Kenai Peninsula Open tournament, and they were confident and perform really well.
2022 Kenai Peninsula Open Tournament
Saturday, September 10, thirty-six Martial Arts students from Challenge Martial Arts, Shidokan Dojo Kenai and Soldotna Martial Arts attended the Kenai Peninsula Open Martial Arts tournament in
Nikiski, AK. Forty-three medals were awarded. This was the first tournament for almost all of these students. Sixteen Challenge Martial Arts students placed
in at least of the divisions that they entered. Many spectators from all over the Peninsula enjoyed the show as we had a great time competing against students from other
studios. We especially enjoyed seeing the differences in styles all competing together. Next year's tournament is already in planning, so stay tuned for more details.
2021 New Black Belts
Saturday, May 8, three more Challenge Martial Arts' students were awarded their first degree Black Belt. Each of these students, the three on the left in this photo, are outstanding students in their primary education studies and also have many interests beyond that. Yet they rose to the challenge and completed the study of ten color-belt levels, then went on to complete the intense Recommended training and pass a grueling two-day test. We are proud of your accomplishment and your leadership in the community.
2020 New Black Belts
Saturday, August 15, three of Challenge Martial Arts' students were awarded their first degree Black Belt after more than three years of comprehensive training. This achievement is amazing considering that these students have full and active personal lives outside the martial arts training. But they took the challenge and completed the study of ten color-belt levels, then went on to complete the intense Recommended training in under eight months. We are proud of your amazing accomplishment.
2019 Alaska Open Tournament
Saturday, April 27, thirteen Challenge Martial Arts students attended the Alaska Open Martial Arts tournament in
Anchorage. They brought home 17 trophies and three medals. This was the first tournament for all these students,
and they collectively placed in 46% of the divisions that they entered. We congratulate all the participants for
such excellent results, and we thank all the students of the studio for their teamwork in helping prepare these
students to compete. We are immensely proud of you all.
