It’s been a busy couple of months for Tucson Chayon-Ryu students! In November, we had a rank test at which seven of our students were promoted to their next belts.

Students demonstrating their roundhouse kicks in front of judges

It was our first test in our new location, and the bigger space meant that there was plenty of room for the friends and family of our students to watch and show their support.

In December, Ann Moser traveled to Houston to spend a week training at Chayon-Ryu’s World Headquarters, where she had the opportunity to learn from Grandmaster Kim Soo and Master Sean Kim. My father, Robert Fleming, and I joined Ms. Moser – now Kyosanim Moser! – there just in time for the rank test in Houston, to give moral support to our student.

Master Rangel, Robert Fleming, Ann Moser and other students demonstrate punching in a horse-riding stance

Just after arriving, Mr. Fleming and I discovered that we would be testing, too! Fortunately, after a class with Grandmaster Kim Soo and a few pep talks with each other, we were able to approach the test with enthusiasm.

Ann Moser, Robyn Fleming and Robert Fleming (back row) in a group portrait

It was a very exciting test, with several students being promoted to Master level, and Master Rangel and Master Sean Kim being promoted to their 8th Dan black belts. We were honored to be able to train with the students at World Headquarters and participate in their 252nd rank exam.

Congratulations to all of the Tucson Chayon-Ryu students who have earned new ranks this year!

One of my junior instructors led the first class today, which gave me a chance to take a couple of photos of a class in our new location. Here you can see her leading students in warm-up exercises:

And here, she is helping a student learn a form:

The new space has a smooth, padded floor which is a little bit of a challenge for those of us used to balancing on hardwood flooring. But the extra cushioning will allow us to add new techniques to our repertoire safely, and the large training space gives us all plenty of room to move.

In this photo of another student, you can see a framed portrait of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, in the background. Several of my younger students were curious about who “the man in the pictures” that the Aikido of Tucson school has on display is. After sharing some information about Morihei Ueshiba with them, I asked my students to examine the Chayon-Ryu Lineage Chart and do a little research on some of the people who have influenced our own martial arts system. I look forward to hearing about what they learn.

Hint to students: If you’ve misplaced the copy of the chart I gave you, you can click the link above (or this one)to see it again!