Well friends, it has been 13 years coming. I JUST RECEIVED WORD THAT I HAVE PASSED MY 4TH DEGREE BLACK BELT TESTING!!! Words can not describe how happy I feel, after an intensive 6 months of preparation for my testing. I am truly blessed and humbled to now be considered a HIGH RANKING BLACK BELT in the ATA! First of all, I would like to extend the invitation to all of you to come see me officially promoted THIS SATURDAY at our Moon Valley location (7th Street and Bell Rd.). At 9 a.m., my fellow 4th Degree promotee Mrs. Tammy Chavet and I will receive our new rank officially from our Master Instructor. If you can attend, please let me know in advance so I can get a sense of how many will be attending on this busy day (we are also doing a Grand Opening for the ATA Inspiration Martial Arts Moon Valley school). And now, I would like to personally thank those who have been instrumental in seeing me reach this tremendous goal. First and foremost, to my most respected mentors, Master Jessiah Rueckert and Mrs. Sharon Rueckert, thank you for seeing a need, and taking an action when you first met me. To Mr. Jonathan Franco (now we can finally do 4th Degree training together haha) and Ms. Sophia Franco, thank you for your invaluable friendship along this journey, and pushing me to see what I could achieve. To Ms. Liana Royce, Ms. Lissa Royce, Mrs. Jennifer Royce, and Mr. Bryan Goad: thank you for your constant support and cheering me on ringside as I tested; I probably would not have been able to do this without such a great cheering section! To my family, Ann Armstrong, Gene Blankenbaker, and Robert Blankenbaker, what a journey this has been--thanks for the love! To my high school band teachers, Mr. George Hattendorf and Mr. Michael Warner for your constant support as I merged my love of music and love of martial arts--It wasnt always easy to avoid conflicts between the two, but you were always understanding and supportive along the way. To some of my closest, most treasured friends, Melanie N Adam Thul, Samantha Glenn, and Christopher Vraney, for always being there for me on this journey, knowing everything that it has taken to get to here, and still being understanding when I wanted to hang out, but just couldnt haha. To my students and parents, who have always believed in me and cheered me to victory, none of this would be possible without you--because of you, I strive to be the best martial artist I can be! Lastly, to all my other friends who I have not mentioned, dont think for a second I dont appreciate you; it takes a village of support, and every like for a profile picture, or uplifting status, and even text saying congratulations means the world to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, heres to another great 4 years, and I hope to see you all on Saturday!
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 19:02:54 +0000
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