4th Degree Black Belt Curriculum

All selections must be approved by Mr. C, Mr. Biggers and Mr. Josh.

4th Degree Black Belt and above must choose 4 techniques to perform with right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot. These may be all different techniques or the same technique repeated on each side. You will also choose a 5^th technique of either hand or foot for a total of 5 breaks.

Hands:

• Palm
• Elbow
• Hammer Fist
• Punch

Feet:

• Side (variations include pump, skip, etc)
• Spin Side (including jump spin)
• Front (including jump front)
• Axe
• Knee
• Spin Hook
• Spin Heel

Adults (18+) may also choose from the following:

• Ridge hand
• Knife Hand
• Round Kick

Below is the checklist and requirements for testing. Each item must be met in order to test for your 5th degree Degree Black Belt.

• Regular class attendance – 14 classes per cycle (no exceptions)
• Personal training - 15 minutes everyday
• Flexibility – be able to kick waist high and head high with kicks
• Endurance – push-ups, sit-ups
• Running (at testing) – 5 laps around gym, after each lap the student must perform 5 push-ups, 5 sit-ups, 5 squats, and 5 jumping jacks.
• Attend the required number of Black Belt Camps (Confirmation phase is the time spent earning stripes, Recommended phase is the 6 months prior to testing for the belt)

Attendance Requirement

Each 4th Degree Black Belt must maintain attendance just like every other student. The 4th Degree Black Belt curriculum becomes more demanding on technique so active participation is required.

To test for your 5th Degree Decided you must have a total of 48 months of classes with a minimum of 14 classes per cycle. If you do not obtain 14 classes for that 2-month period of time, it will not count towards your final time for 5th Degree Black Belt.

Total Time Requirement for 4th Degree Black Belt's Testing for 5th Degree Black Belt.

• 24 – 2 month cycles of 14 classes each
• 3 Confirmation Testing’s (Approximately every 12 months). For each confirmation testing you have to fill out a confirmation testing form.

Example

January 2019 – Tested for 3rd Degree Black Belt
January 2020 – Confirmation Testing (stripe 1)
January 2021 – Confirmation Testing (stripe 2)
January 2022 – Confirmation Testing (stripe 3)
January 2023 – 5th Degree Decided Testing

Make Up Tests

Due to the requirements for 4th Degree Black Belt and above, make-up tests are not allowed.  If you are unable to be present at testing please speak with an instructor to determine what options, if any, are available.

Private Lessons

Students will often set up private training sessions with me to make sure they are prepared for testing, whether it’s help improving cardio or perfecting their board breaks.  The most common private training package they purchase is 4 (15 minutes) sessions for $70.  If you are interested in purchasing that package just let me know.

Minimum Strength Requirements

During each confirmation phase you test for, you will need to meet the strength and endurance standards set forth by Martial Arts USA.  Please locate the chart and see what your standards are. 

*Students must meet the Pushup and Sit-up requirements within the first two weeks of a confirmation or testing cycle by testing with either a Senior or Master Instructor. If you are unable to meet the standards you will be ineligible to confirm or test during that cycle.

Sparring

Each confirmation you will perform anywhere from 2-4 rounds of sparring and you will face partners of different sizes and abilities.  We are looking for your usage of every technique and sparring strategy you have worked on up to your test.

Breaking

On your last phase, you must break 4 stations (2 hands and 2 feet).  The board sizes and the quantity of each station will be determined by Kyoshi Cvitak.  Each breaking technique must have the approval of a Senior Instructor or Master Instructor.  Result in not breaking each station is a 0 on your grade card and results in a no-change in your rank.  A word of advice: choose what you are going to break with during your first 2 months of being a recommended Black Belt, get Master C’s approval and start practicing your breaking techniques on the heavy bag 20 times each day you come to class.

Overall technique of kicks and punches

We expect to see every technique that you have been taught up to this point in your training.

Testing Fee

We do not have any testing fees associated with the confirmation tests but we do have a 5th Degree Black Belt test fee of $250.

Black Belt Run

At testing, all recommended and above, perform the Black Belt run.  To prepare for this run we suggest training in this manner: Run 300 feet, once completed then do 5 push-ups, 5 sit-ups, 5 squats, 5 jumping jacks.  This needs to be done in less than 60 seconds.  If you can do this lap in 45 seconds than you get to rest 15 sec before you have to run the next lap. 

- Total: 5 laps
- Total Time: 5 min or less

Once you get done with the Black Belt Run then perform the Black Belt kicks:

10 front kicks each side, 10 side kicks each side, 10 round kicks each side, 10 boxing combinations

- Total Time for Black Belt Kicks: 5 minutes (2.5 min per person)

- Combined Total Time of Black Belt Run and Black Belt Kicks: 10 minutes

Make Up Tests

Due to the requirements for Recommended Black Belt and above, make-up tests are not allowed.  If you are unable to be present at testing please speak with an instructor to determine what options, if any, are available.

Essay

During your last phase you will be given an essay sheet to fill out, one for the student and one for the parent (if needed).  This essay will be what the journey to Black Belt has meant, hurdles you’ve overcome and the changes that you have been through.

Score Card & Receiving Your Confirmation Stripe

You are testing in 6 areas.  In order to progress to the next phase you must pass all areas.  If you no-pass any section you must wait until the next testing date to try again.

You will be graded over these areas during the testing but not awarded your confirmation stripe until the following week.  We will sit down with you and discuss your scores and award you the confirmation stripe if you pass or explain what you need to work on for the next testing cycle.

The areas you will be graded on are:

1. Black Belt Run
2. Black Belt Kicks
3. Black Belt Boxing
4. Self Defense
5. Sparring
6. Overall Effort & Enthusiasm

Black Belt Run - Stamina / Jumping Jacks / Push-ups / Sit-ups / Squats

Kicks - Power / Execution / Chambers / Re-Chambers / Speed / Guarding Position

Boxing - Hands Up / Hip Twist / Power / Speed / Snap

Self-Defense - Reaction Speed / Knowledge / Energy / Enthusiasm

Sparring Skills - Footwork / Movement / Offense / Defense / Boxing (hand techniques) / Kicks / Counters / Stamina

Effort and Enthusiasm - Yelling during self-defense / Showing energy in techniques

My Relationship with You

There are 3 types of relationships that I have with the people at MAUSA:

Customer - This is the 1^st level of relationship based solely on paying for a service and receiving that service back.  All efforts are done to keep the customer “happy”!

Client - At the 2^nd level, the attention is more on personal experiences and finding out what you as an individual are looking for.  The effort is on “doing things right” rather than keeping you happy.

Student - The 3^rd level means we develop and maintain an unconditional relationship and it does not matter if you are “happy”, as long as you are on the right track and doing the right things assuming that you know what the “goal” is and what the right things are.  You do not like or dislike things because it is NOT about you liking things.  It’s about the honor and CANI (constant and never-ending improvements), complete loyalty (protecting each other’s name and values) and honoring MAUSA and what it stands for.

The kind of relationship you want is YOUR CHOICE.

As a teacher, I promise you:

I will not tolerate mediocracy.

I will not put up with your stories or excuses.

I will come after you; this is your journey, not mine.

I will stop you if I feel that you are not being authentic and real in your training at MAUSA.

I will stop you if I feel that you are sacrificing your family and/or mixing up your priorities in your life.  You, your family, your career (school) should always remain the top priorities in our life.  This journey is about “putting first things first.”

You must learn to pay “appropriate attention” to things that will come up.

You must manage your time and find a way to make the Black Belt Journey compliment your life, not take away from it.  If you need help with this matter please see me.

I don’t care if you lack talent.  I don’t care if you’ve had a knee injury, hip replacement or shoulder surgery, or whatever your story is.  All I care about is your commitment.  If you are committed at the deepest level, you will get to create great results, you’ll learn something and you’ll teach a bunch of people something about success.  You story will be GREAT, too.  Great is not always about being able to kick the highest or jump the furthest, but it’s ALWAYS about a commitment to a worthy goal.

You must play full out during this time.  No excuses or nonsense will be tolerated.  If this isn’t your mindset you’re going into the training with then you are already beginning this journey with a huge weight to carry – and setting yourself up for failure and disappointment. 

DO NOT START ---- If you are not willing to do this and have this mindset, then PLEASE don’t start this process.  Don’t start if you’re not willing to serve as a role model to others! Don’t start if you’re not fully committed!  Don’t start if you’re not willing to put it all on the line.

First off, my teacher doesn’t have to say a word to me.  Not one word.  He’s already taught me how to behave.  He’s already planted the seeds of expectation.  He doesn’t have to tell me to train.

He doesn’t have to tell me to be ready.

I honor his time and instruction, his legacy, his life – by knowing my test is coming and being ready for it.

I understand what the test is about – I know why we do it, why I do it, and I recognize the power, potential, and intent of the activity.

He hardly has to lay down the test subjects as I’m very schooled, I know my strengths and weaknesses and I work around and/or thru them.  He won’t have to tell me to come prepared.  He established that understanding years ago.  That is what he was teaching me.

I am capable of significant things.  Mental things.  Physical things.  Emotional things.  Organizational things.

I have some small influence, some experience, and I’ve had a large number of fine role models who came before me or grew up alongside me, or have come after me – and I don’t have to wait for my test to recognize and act upon what I’ve observed and learned.

I don’t “take” a test.  I don’t “have” a test.  I live a test.  I am the test.

Even in my failure, I shine.  Even when I look stupid, I am learning.  Even when I get hit or fall or sprain or tear or breakdown, I am living the experience and it will serve me, somehow, as that is what I was taught to make that experience do.  That’s what I learned in 5000 classes of kicking and punching and rolling and sparring and friendship and mentoring.

My test isn’t necessarily about what I know; it is about how I exercise my potential.  It is about how I treat other people, even people I don’t care for.  It is about how I recover from my mistakes and move forward in a positive way.  I will not quit.

I will fall, I may falter at times, I may even argue or turn away but I will not embarrass my teacher or myself by not finding my center and resolving the issue.  It is my job to make my own life and to hold myself accountable to what my teachers learned from their teachers and their teachers.

My black belt test must transcend the curriculum.  I must not simply be a great black belt: I must follow all the way through and be as good a human being as I possibly can.  The teaching wasn’t about developing a devastating round kick, deadly skills, or speed and endurance and courage.  It was about learning to apply myself to my potential, to the tasks at hand and to my life.

I am living the test – but my test isn’t just about me.  I will make YOU better by being a better black belt myself.

For those of you who follow this process, then hold yourself to it.  Succeed or fail wonderfully.  Show your teammates how it’s done.  What it’s really about.  How to BE on a test.  How to live a test.  Show them what loyalty and service really is.

Show them how to behave when all hell breaks loose.

How to Approach Your Black Belt Test

Your black belt test is your Olympics. From the first day you stepped on the mat, you began preparing for your test, whether you were aware of it or not.

On the day you test for your black belt, you want to be at your absolute best, your peak; and going through the test should be like crawling through a long tunnel between one world and the next, like a birth; a rebirth. When you come to the other side, you should be changed; from that day on you are a new person.

When you practice your martial arts, whether you're in your first week of lessons or a veteran of a thousand classes, knowing your test is coming up, that you are preparing yourself, that that day's training session is connected to your test, gives you direction.
You train with intention, with purpose and a sense of mission.

Every part of your life, every relationship, everything you consume, every thought, every action, every movement contains in it something that has to do with your test.

You are in training.
You are preparing yourself.

Getting ready for your black belt test requires that you become a representative of the martial arts. You represent the truth of it - or its frivolity. You represent every master teacher of every style of every school since the beginning. To everyone around you, you should represent the seriousness of the undertaking. It is more than your formal education, it is more than a contest, it is more than getting your degree, passing the Bar or getting married or any other event in your life.

This is your black belt test, this is the event that requires you to practice ten-thousand repetitions, to dig deep, to be consistent, to train and train and train until the connections in your brain are so strong, so time-tested, and so automatic that the space between thinking and doing is eliminated.

Every toe knows its exact place. The foot is aligned, perfectly, as is the knee, the hip, the torso, the shoulders, the head, and the eyes. Like a master carpenter yielding a hammer, your hands, feet, elbows, and knees follow an exact path; they hit their targets with exact precision, with surprising force, with confidence that can only be born from practice. Your movement isn't just movement, it is integration, it comes from your center, and your balance is perfect.

You could do it all backwards, blindfolded, against one or more people, in the dark, on the grass, in the water, or anywhere, anytime, with or without a proper warm up.
When you test for your black belt, you are what you have shaped yourself to be. You have adjusted for any limitations and injuries.

You move with a confidence that comes from repetition, from practice, from awareness, from intent, and from your breath.

In your preparation, no stone has been left unturned.

You ran the extra mile, you eliminated the unhealthy from your diet, you studied the best of the best, and you shaped and forged and worked on your movement. For you, it is all about the technique and nothing about the technique. Something drives you that is not your muscles.

When you test for your black belt, even your mistakes are polished. When you fall you flow, when you get hit, you embrace, when you tap, you win with a smile. You're not hard on yourself, you don't get angry; you cope, you adjust, and you accept.

You have worked through the mistakes. You have worked through the frustration and the anger and the injuries. The earlier you recognize the value of training for your black belt test, the better. The earlier you begin, the better. Preparing for your test shapes your experience; it makes you a better person. When other people are easily distracted, you are focused. When others eat without purpose, you choose a diet that prepares you for your training.

When others give into anger, you see it as a chance to practice your control.

You're in training to be a black belt.

A professionally trained dancer carries with her a sense of center, of style, of confidence that lasts her entire life.

A West Point graduate has a certain posture, an attentiveness and sense of confidence that shines - regardless of the time that has passed since graduation. A black belt who approaches his or her training with mission and seriousness - carries the experience to the grave.

You prepare for your black belt test with everything you have. When you do that, the experience serves you, it is rich, it is life-shaping, and it brings to you skills that you might never have acquired any other way.

Approach your black belt test, starting today, with these ideas in mind. When you step on the mat, remember where you are headed. Make your practice go deep - and then deeper, and then deeper yet. Put as much focus and energy into your hour of practice as you put into anything you do in your life.

Set 1

10 Front Kicks
10 Side Kicks
10 Round Kicks
1/4 of the push-up set
1/4 of the sit-up set

Set 2

10 Front Kicks
10 Side Kicks
10 Round Kicks
1/4 of the push-up set
1/4 of the sit-up set

Set 3

10 Front Kicks
10 Side Kicks
10 Round Kicks
1/4 of the push-up set
1/4 of the sit-up set

Set 4

10 Front Kicks
10 Side Kicks
10 Round Kicks
1/4 of the push-up set
1/4 of the sit-up set