On Saturday, at Peak Fitness, five martial artists from Tiger Taekwondo Yukon tested for their black belt promotion.

Tiger Taekwondo Yukon has existed for about three years and offers classes in Olympic-style taekwondo. It is an affiliate of Grandmaster Su Hwan Chung's dojang in Edmonton.

Chung is a Korean native and an 8th Dan black belt. He has trained both national and international taekwondo competitors and is also the head National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) instructor and former president of Taekwondo Canada.

It was the first time Tiger Taekwondo Yukon has had a black belt promotion, and Chung visited Whitehorse to facilitate the testing.

Kinden Kosick tested for his fourth Dan (Dan is commonly used in Korean martial arts to denote a black belt). An instructor for Tiger Taekwondo, he began his training at age eight and earned his first black belt in 1996.

Kosick said having the testing done in Whitehorse was a "big achievement for the club."

"It means a lot," said Kosick. "Our students could come to see their instructors getting their black belts."

As well, a crowd of family and friends came to watch the five martial artists receive their promotion, which is no small feat.

"I was definitely nervous," said Kosick. "We were all nervous. We dedicated many years to this. It was awesome testing for fourth Dan and it was awesome to share it with friends."

Many years indeed. Before Kosick could test for his fourth Dan, he had to practise three years as a third Dan. It will be four years until he can test for another promotion.

Kosick said it was reaffirming to the club to have Chung do the promotions. Before testing day, Chung put the martial artists "through the ringer."

"He was trying to get us stressed out and tired," said Kosick. "He wants to see where we are at. The whole weekend is one big long test."

To the sound of music, the martial artists went through a series of requirements before the gathered crowd. They did required poomsae (set of forms used to teach taekwondo), one step sparring, and hosinool (self-defence techniques).

The practitioners were all testing for different Dan and the requirements, said Kosick, vary in refinement and what is expected, depending on the Dan. As well, each Master will have a different requirement for testing.

Also doing the promotion was Nathan Cross, testing for a second Dan. He began his taekwondo journey in 1993. After a few years of pursuing other sports, Cross resumed his training under Chung and received his black belt in 2012.

Rodney D'Abramo, testing for second Dan, started training taekwondo when he lived in Korea. He trained in a gym in Seoul and learned taekwondo in the Korean language. He tested for his black belt at Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo Federation headquarters.

Steven Lotrian, from France, tested for third Dan. He began his training at 17, earning his black belt. He also practised in New Zealand and Australia, earning his second Dan while living in Perth.

In an effort to learn more about the martial art and Korean tradition, he spent time staying in a temple in Korea.

John Kempis tested for first Dan. He began training at Tiger Taekwondo Yukon in 2015 as one of the first students of the club. He earned his first Gup in December 2018.

In taekwondo, belts are ranked junior, senior and black. A 10th Gup would be a white belt, the first belt each student receives upon beginning taekwondo. First Gup is a black stripe belt, the last belt earned before a black belt promotion.

Kempis was the first student to test for a black belt with Tiger Taekwondo Yukon.

Kosick, one of Kempis' instructors, said he was proud of him.

"Any accomplishment by your students is one of the biggest accomplishments you can have," said Kosick. "That's why you instruct. You want them to exceed you."

Kosick said after testing, you are glad it's over but that he leaves feeling refreshed.

"It's exciting, your glad it's over but you feel renewed," said Kosick. "It's a big accomplishment and you're proud you did it."

The higher your Dan rank, the more you are expected to give back to taekwondo and Kosick said there are a lot of goals for the club moving forward.

Tiger Taekwondo has about 30 students and focuses not just on the physical side.

"It's a traditional martial art," said Kosick. "It's a way of life. That's what we teach at our school – Courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control."

As part of Chung's visit, he also gave NCCP training for the black belts.

"He gave us a lot of new material to take back to training," said Kosick. "It's a boost in the arm as to where we are going."