From CGN Sarah

Dear 2012 Black Belt candidates,

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS. You have worked so hard to get where you are now and it’s well deserved. Coming up, you will be faced with some challenges that might make you doubt yourself and your totally awesome skills. No matter what, you must remember that if you set your mind to it, you will succeed. Your instructors would have pulled you out by now if they didn’t think you could handle the test.

During the test, you are going to have to make some sacrifices. For me, I had to give up a few soccer games and practices to attend some training. But sports aren’t the only things that are sacrificed. I had to give up a lot of time with my family and friends for my test. My friends would ask me to come over or spend the night and I repeatedly had to say that I was busy. Or my cousins were having a sleepover but I had special training the following morning so I left early. Spend all the time you can with your loved ones and make good use of your nights off.

Don’t fall behind on your numbers. Once you’re too far behind its hard to catch up and you’ll end up with tons of pushups/sit-ups/rows to crank out at the end. Try keeping a chart in you binder and fill it out after each day. Whether you had P.E. or you rode your bike to work, everything counts.

Rely on your team. They are your family for this test and they will support you no matter what. Aim High, Dream Big, and never give up.

With love and best wishes,

CGN Sarah :)