From the Grading Preparation Workshop held on Sunday 1 February 2009 at the National Training Centre, it looked like a good number would be going for their higher dan grading in April 2009.
13 out of 22 who attended the course are black belts. The rest were red belts.
The youngest and most junior among them was Chloe Lee Yan Win who was 8 years old and held a grade 2. However, she was not overwhelmed by the occasion. She laughed with the rest when there were some light-hearted moments during the theory session and smiled when she made movement errors during her practical lesson.
Said Lim Teong Chin, one of the course conductors: “She is not only very brave but also very intelligent. I am impressed by her composure and ability to learn the whole pattern, which was new to her, in quick time.”
Chin Khee Shin, RA Jeyaraman, Ng Hwa Ann, Tan Kok Heng and Leon Koh assisted in running the course.
Those who attended the workshop would have a better chance of passing than those who did not. Why? It is simply because the participants know exactly what the examiners expect them to do and they know their area of weaknesses. What’s more, if they fall a little short during the grading, they may still be able to make it.
Nevertheless, they were reminded not to depend on ‘charity’ and encouraged to work on improving themselves so that they could pass on their own merits.
Participants in the course may collect their certificates from the Secretariat from 16 February 2009.