Duan Grading at HQ (Grays)
19 March 2006

On Sunday 19th March 2006 students from Essex, Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Croydon gathered at National Headquarters for the March Duan Grading.

Grandmaster Loke (centre) with Masters, Instructors and students

The lesson before the grading began at 3:00 pm. Family members and friends who were not grading also took part in the one hour lesson held by Grandmaster Loke.

Aaran Clark (2nd Duan) from Chelmsford smashes thorugh a stack of
five tiles with a short range vertical punch

Whilst the ji grading took place, those taking their Duan grade examinations sat their written examiation, adjudicated by Master Siew Ying Loke (4th Duan), completing questions on Chinese terminology and set essay question(s).

Students from Surrey and Sussex: ping ma bu (horse stance)

Aaran Clark from Chelmsford club (student of Master Christopher Cook, 5th Duan) was present to take his third Duan examination. Tony Salton from Grays was taking his second Duan examination.

Tony Salton (1st Duan senior) completing his
grading for 2nd Duan with the tile stack smashing,
then an impressive jump front kick breaking the
heavy black break board on the first attempt

Amanda Hewlett from Chelmsford was taking her 1st Duan Senior exam, with daughter Hayley taking her 1st Duan, making it a family day.

Master Adam Goward (5th Duan) saw six members from Epsom club taking their 1st Duan examinations: Jonathan King, Roland Vasallo, Shaun Feltham, Nikki Della Rocca, and father and son Mark and Sebastian Hancock. Tim Eves from Horsham also took his 1st Duan exam, alongside Ian Holditch from Rochford club.

Tim Eves (Horsham) smashes through his stack of
tiles with a decisive punch

Master Cook (5th Duan), Grandmaster Loke and Master Goward (5th Duan) observe students: chorng duan chuen chee (middle punch)

Croydon's first Duan grade was Barry Fisher who was watched by family and friends.

Everyone showed excellent spirit and energy on the day, from the horse stance, through slow kicking, evasion and footwork, forms, one-step sparring and free sparring, to the final breakboard and tile breaking requirements.

Instructor Tina Matania (3rd Duan) slow kicking with the class:
front thrust kick (chean chuai ti)

Instructor Nick Evagorou (2nd Duan) - Grandmaster Loke
explaining application of the palm heel strike

Aaran Clark performed two excellent short-range breaking techniques - a bottom fist strike (tau chuen kong chee) and a short palm heel attack (chang kern kong chee). Both Aaran and Tony Salton broke through the required strong black breakboards with ease.

Well done to everyone.

Hou ma bu (back stance)

Chorng duan tau sou tang (middle section knife hand block)

Grandmaster Loke demonstrates evasion techniques: firstly
relaxing the hands, standing in a 50/50 stance ready to move the feet

Grandmaster Loke demonstrates to the class which direction
they should be moving in to complete the evasion footwork

L to R: Master Ronketti and Aaran Clark:
Aaran performs evasion techniques whilst being 'attacked' with a kick bat

Sou chuor kong chee (elbow strike), with cover

L to R: Nick Evagorou (Croydon) free sparring with
Shaun Feltham (Epsom)

L to R: Nick Evagorou (Croydon) free sparring with
Barry Fisher (Croydon)

Aaran Clark (Chelmsford) (right of picture) free sparring with
young student from Epsom

Ian Holditch (Rochford) free sparring with Aaran Clark (Chelmsford)

Tang Sou!

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