Four promoted to first-degree black belt

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

More than seven years of hard work and dedication has paid off for four martial arts students at the Sawbuck Do Jang in Whitefish.

Last Thursday, students Trysten Armstrong, Madison Dugdale, Shea Hironaka and Dale Cockrell were each promoted to the rank of Cho Dan, or first-degree black belt. The belt is actually colored midnight blue to represent the start of a new day.

"To have a group of four was huge," Sawbuck owner-instructor Andy Hamer said. "It was very fulfilling."

To gain their promotions, the four students performed in front of regional testers at Muldown Elementary School on Oct. 11.

This event, called the Dan Shim Sa, was a testing of all eligible candidates within Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. This was the first time Whitefish has ever held such an event.

An opportunity to show of years of hard work, the four Whitefish students rose to the challenge.

They performed the general basics of Soo Bahk Do, a Korean martial art that pre-dates Taekwondo. Each student performed as many as 57 memorized moves several different times.

"It was advanced techniques, way beyond your simple block-and-punch techniques," he said. "It involved a lot of mental training. They also demonstrated one-step sparring and free-sparring, as well as a board break."

Armstrong, Dugdale and Hironaka are all seventh-graders at Whitefish Middle School.

"I was extremely nervous," Armstrong said. "I had worked at it for seven years. When I was given my new uniform and black belt, I felt pride and accomplishment. I hadn't been able to wear a new uniform for two years."

Armstrong said other students at the Do Jang will now refer to him as "Mr. Armstrong, sir" when they address him. He also plans to continue studying martial arts through college.

Hamer said Cockrell was the first adult he has taken to the rank of first-degree black belt.

"It was an interesting feeling as we saw the promotions," Hamer said. "This spring, I will have eight candidates for promotion, so it was good to know we had more waiting in the wings. These students have worked very hard for a long time, and this was the culmination of that."