On Saturday 22^nd December, 2007 Christopher Bouhabib attempted his 1^st Degree Black Belt Grading at the Caringbah Dojang. The AFTA 1^st Degree Black Belt Examination is a long and difficult test in itself, as it tests a student on all aspects of their Coloured Belt training (all patterns, set sparing, self defence), as well as power breaking, continuous free sparring and bag and callisthenic drills, and for a young man to undertake this challenge by himself is a truly awesome feat! In all aspects of Chris’s examination he was required to face fresh Black Belts in set sparring, self defence and free sparring who are older and more experienced, and rise to the task of effectively defending himself and countering against their attacks.

Christopher demonstrated excellent martial sprit, focus, technique, power, and determination during his examination and we are all very proud of his promotion to 1^st Degree Black Belt. Congratulations Christopher!

The last combined Coloured Belt Grading examination for the Caringbah and Sutherland Dojangs was conducted at the Caringbah Dojang on the 12^th December, 2007. This examination also hosted quite a large contingent of Coloured Belt students ranging from White Belt through to Brown Belt, and all performed exceptionally well. The Junior ranking students showed excellent basic technique and patterns, and good controlled free sparring. The Senior Belts attempting this examination worked very hard in the December heat, demonstrating strong advanced techniques, focused patterns, powerful free sparring and effective and fast self defence. During this exam all students showing supreme fitness, agility and stamina in the steamy Sydney summer conditions.

During this Grading Examination Reannan Honey and Lucy McNamara attempted their 1^st Grade (Black Tip) examination, and even though the night was long and hot, both young ladies powered through their test with excellent technique, impressive breaking and strong forms to be promoted to 1^st Grade (Black Tip). Congratulations Reannan and Lucy, very well done!

On the 11^th December, Bankstown Dojang hosted its final Grading Examination for 2007. This examination consisted mainly of students from the Bankstown Junior class, and covered the ranks from White Belt through to Blue Tip. This grading tested the students on all areas of their Tae Kwon-Do training including basic technique, patterns, belt grade self defence, set sparring, free sparring and bag work, and the examination proved grueling in the summer heat for all students, who all remained focused and worked hard throughout their exam despite the hot conditions. Well done and keep up the good work to all at Bankstown!

On the 1^st December, a large group of students, parents and friends from the Caringbah, Bankstown and Sutherland Dojangs made the annual trip to Jamberoo Action Park for the AFTA Christmas Party. As always, the day was filled with fun, excitement and laugher, as young and old enjoyed the rides, slides and great atmosphere! With the day proving to be quite warm, the water rides were a great hit, with a big contingent of AFTA students ending up on the water slides, jumping off the rock and also in the wave pool at Outback Bay. The brave also experienced the latest attraction “The Taipan”, which is a water slide in total darkness! Great fun!

Thank you to all students, parents and friends who came along and made the day a great Christmas Party!

The November 2007 Brown Belt and Above training session focused on all aspects of jumping and flying kicks. As Tae Kwon-Do is predominantly a “kicking” style of Martial Art and is renown for it’s dynamic kicks, this Brown Belt and Above session would provide the Senior students an opportunity to practice their jumping and flying kicking techniques, from basic jumping kicks through to advance double flying kicks and flying kicks over obstacles.

This session proved to be very enjoyable for all Senior students who attended, with impressive kicking techniques and kicking height being demonstrated by all on the day.

On the 27^th September the AFTA Bankstown Dojang hosted its September grading examination. The Bankstown examination had a large number of White Belt and Yellow Belt students being examined, as well as a contingent of Green Belts, Blue Belts and one Brown Belt. This test also proved to be very technical and physically demanding, with the White Belt and Junior Belt students showing very good technique and control, and all performing very well. The Senior Belts who attempted this examination all showed excellent technical ability and stamina during their exam, and great control and determination as they sparred and were spurred along by Black Belts.  

During the Bankstown Grading Examination Cheryl Vuong attempted her 1^st Grade (Black Tip) examination, and even though the night was long and the Black Belts proved to make it very demanding, Cheryl powered through her test with excellent technique, impressive breaking and strong forms to be promoted to 1^st Grade (Black Tip). Congratulations Cheryl, very well done!

The September Coloured Belt Grading examination for the Caringbah and Sutherland Dojangs was conducted at the Caringbah Dojang on the 26^th September, 2007. This examination hosted a small number of White Belts students, with the main contingent of students being coloured belts from all ranks. This test proved to be very technical and physically demanding, with the White Belt and Junior Belt students rising to the task and all performing very well. The Senior Belts who attempted this examination all showed excellent fitness, stamina and ability during this lengthy examination, with their dedication to powerful execution of techniques being very noticeable. 

During this Grading Examination Brad Price and Peter Spanos attempted their 1^st Grade (Black Tip) examination, and even though the night was long and demanding, both Brad and Peter powered through their test with excellent technique, impressive breaking and strong forms to be promoted to 1^st Grade (Black Tip). Congratulations Brad and Peter on an exceptional performance!

On 18^th September 2007, the AFTA Bankstown Dojang hosted a Power Breaking night. This range of students and belts ranks at the Bankstown Power Breaking Night was very similar to the Caringbah Power Breaking Night held the night before, with Junior and Senior students from all belt ranks attempting board and tile breaking, with some Junior students successfully attempting board breaking for the very first time! This Power Breaking Night saw another large number of Bankstown Brown Belts and Black Tips successfully demonstrating a wide variety of breaking techniques in preparation for upcoming Senior belt gradings.  

Well done to all of those students who attended and broke successfully and thank you to the Black Belts and students (from both Bankstown and Caringbah) who were a great help with holding boards.  A great effort!

On 17^th September 2007, the AFTA Caringbah Dojang hosted a Power Breaking night for the Caringbah and Sutherland Dojangs. This Power Breaking Night proved to be a huge success, with a very broad spectrum of Junior and Senior students from all belt ranks attempting board and tile breaking, with some Junior students attempting board breaking for the very first time! This Power Breaking Night saw a very large number for Brown Belts and Black Tips successfully demonstrating a wide variety of techniques in preparation for upcoming Senior belt gradings.  

Well done to all of those students who attended and broke successfully, and thank you to the Black Belts and students who were a great help with holding boards.  Keep up the good work!

On the 9^th September a select number of AFTA students were invited to compete in the Australian Martial Arts Championships 2007 NSW State Titles Tournament. To earn an invitation to compete in this State Titles event, students had to have competed and ranked in previous AMAC tournament during 2007, and the AFTA entered 4 competitors in the karate point and free sparring division, and also both the hard and “freestyle” patterns divisions. Both Issac and Mitchell fought well in their sparring divisions, and Reannan showed excellent determination and skill to fight through for 3^rd place in her point sparring division and 1^st Place in her continuous sparring division. Jake also fought well in the open Black Belt division, and demonstrated a spectacular “freestyle” form to take our 1^st place in the open “freestyle” patterns division.

Congratulations to our two NSW 2007 State Champions Jake and Reannan on your achievement, and a very well done to Issac and Mitchell for very determined sparring displays .Thank you to Kelly and Sarah (Coaching Staff) for assisting on the day, and also the students and parents who came along to support our competitors.

On the Saturday 21^st July, 2007 the Caringbah Dojang hosted Sarah Kemp’s 1^st Degree Black Belt Examination. The AFTA 1^st Degree Black Belt Examination is an exceptionally long and difficult examination, and tests the student on all aspects of the Coloured Belts ranks including all patterns from White Belt through to 1^st Grade, all set sparring, multiple unarmed self defence attacks, advanced power breaking, bag drills, contact sparring and high count calisthenics, ensuring that the 1^st Grade students attempting this test display exceptional levels of technical ability, fitness, determination and focus in preparation for this examination.

Sarah performed an outstanding 1^st Degree Black Belt examination, displaying excellent technical ability and agility throughout her patterns and set sparring, strong and focused self defence skills, and excellent fitness, control and determination through out the bag and pad work, sparring and callisthenic sections of her examination, resulting in her promotion to 1^st Degree Black Belt. Congratulations Sarah on an exceptional examination and well earnt promotion!

On Saturday 7^th July a Brown Belt and above training session was held at the Caringbah Dojang, focusing on unarmed and armed weapons defence. Senior students practiced their unarmed self defence techniques against knife and short stick attacks, and then practiced their armed defence, blocking and disarming skills against short sticks, Bo (wooden staff) and Bokken (wooden sword) attacks.

This session proved to be very informative and enjoyable for all Senior students who attended, with impressive defensive techniques being demonstrated by all on the day.

The mid year Coloured Belt Grading examination for the Caringbah and Sutherland Dojangs was conducted at the Caringbah Dojang on the 27^th June, 2007. This examination also hosted quite a large contingent of White Belt students attempting their first examination in Tae Kwon-Do, and all performed exceptionally well. There was also many Senior Belts attempting this examination, with the Senior Belts examination focusing on technique, kicking ability, stamina and agility. Congratulations to all students who attempted this exam, as the technical ability and standard displayed during the exam by all belt groups was very impressive. Well Done!

Thank you also to the Instructors, Black Belts and Senior Belts from the Caringbah, Bankstown and Sutherland Dojangs who attended on the night. Your skill and assistance was greatly appreciated.

On the 26^th June, Bankstown Dojang hosted its mid year Grading Examination for 2007. This examination was focused on Junior Belts, and saw another large contingent of White Belt students perform very well in their first test. The examination also proved to be a very technical for the Coloured Belt students, with all students remaining focused and determined to show their best ability during their examination. Well done and keep up the good work to all at Bankstown!

A special thank you to all of the Bankstown Senior Belts who attended this examination to assist and support the Juniors being tested, and also to Jake Campbell for coming across from Caringbah Dojang to assist on the night.

On the 24^th June, 2007, the AFTA Southern Sydney Dojangs were invited to compete in the National All Styles (NAS) Tournament, held in Ryde, Sydney. The AFTA accepted the invitation to compete, entering 3 competitors in both the karate “point” sparring and freestyle sparring divisions. This was the first tournament for Jarrod and Murray, and they both displayed good control and sparring skills in their rounds, and once again Jake proved to be a formidable opponent in the Black Belt open sparring divisions, and demonstrated a fantastic “freestyle” form.

Congratulations to all who competed on the day, you all showed excellent martial sprit and very determined efforts in your sparring. Well done! Thank you to all of the Coaching Staff, students and parents who came along to support our competitors.

The 4^th April, 2007 saw the first combined Grading Examination for Caringbah and Sutherland Dojangs held in our new training facility at 1^st Caringbah Scout Hall. This Grading Examination proved very successful, with a large contingent of White Belts displaying excellent technique and determination throughout their exam. The Coloured Belts and Senior Belt ranks who attempted this Grading Examination also did exceptionally well, with an excellent display of advanced jumping and spinning kick techniques, and very impressive Self Defence. Congratulations to Reannan, Lucy and Connor on completing a very demanding examination and successfully being promoted to 2^nd Grade (Brown Belt). Well Done!

Bankstown Dojang hosted the first AFTA Southern Sydney Grading Examination for 2007 on the 3^rd April. This examination was attempted by students from all Coloured Belt ranks, with all students displaying exceptional skill. The Junior White Belts who attempted this exam were all very focused and put in a fantastic effort for their first examination in Tae Kwon-Do. The Coloured Belt students were also very focused, and displayed good stamina, technique and determination in a long and difficult examination. Congratulations to Max Harper on a very determined performance, resulting in his promotion to 2^nd Grade (Brown Belt). Great effort!

On the 25^th March, 2007, the AFTA Southern Sydney Dojangs were invited to compete in the Australian Martial Arts Championships Tournament, hosted primarily by Kempo Ryu and Kyokushikai Karate. The AFTA accepted the invitation to compete, entering 15 competitors in all divisions including forms (hard & freestyle), sparring (karate point, freestyle sparring and “bare knuckle” full contact), and children’s sumo. Being the only Tae Kwon-Do style to compete on the day, our competitors and fighters did exceptionally well, winning four 1^st Place, two 2^nd Place, six 3^rd Place and four 4^th Place rankings.

Congratulations to all who competed on the day and thank you to all of the Coaching Staff, students and parents who came along to support our competitors. A special congratulations to Jake Campbell for a very determined and “hard” display of AFTA spirit in the full contact “bare knuckle” division – well done to a truly strong Martial Artist!