Black Belt Testing Updates 1/7

We have a few reminders this week with some upcoming deadlines.

Candidate Class Reminder

This Saturday (January 10th) there will be a Candidate class in Reading at 8:00am. All current candidate classes are maxed with registrations so please plan on attending only if you have registered for this class. We will see everyone promptly at 8am at the Reading location this weekend!

Fundraising

The final fundraising deadline is January 16th. While many of you have worked very hard to achieve the goal of $350, there are still a few students who are behind on their goals. While the $350 goal is not a requirement, we do expect students to put in their best effort to get as close to that number as possible. However, not participating in this portion of the exam will result in a disqualification from the exam. For those who have not yet submitted their funds you only have a few days to take care of this before failing this requirement. Please make sure to submit what you have raised no later than next Friday.

Tickets

As a reminder tickets are on sale now for the Black Belt Extravaganza and are in limited supply. At this time, around half of the available tickets have already been sold.

If you have not yet purchased your tickets, please do so ASAP so you can ensure a seat to the graduation. Tickets are available on our website here: Winter '26 Black Belt Test and Extravaganza | EFK

Final Kata Check

Final, 36-move kata checks are due no later than January 17th. Brown belts are expected to have their creative kata memorized and completed so there is plenty of time to perfect their kata prior to the graduation day. At this point degree students should know all of their belt ranked katas and should be working on cleaning and sharpening them for the testing day.

5k

Qualifying 5k submissions must be submitted no later than January 30th. For those who have not yet submitted those who have not yet attempted to run your qualifier, we recommend attempting it sometime in the next two weeks to ensure plenty of time for additional attempts if needed.

Video Reflections

Video reflections are due by January 26th for all students. Reflections must be video recordings of no more than 90 seconds. No written essays will be accepted this year. Students should aim to answer all three prompt questions completely, including their most recent experience with the Black Belt testing cycle. More specific directions can be found on our website here: Black Belt Graduation | Elite Freestyle Karate

With exactly 1 month until testing day this is the time for candidates to buckle down and put in the extra work to finish this testing cycle strong.