Grandmaster Lee Visits for Black Belt Weekend

Wow! What an amazing weekend. Congratulations to everyone who ranked up to black belt and beyond. You all did an outstanding job, and a huge thank you goes to everyone who showed up to support them.

Here's how our Black Belt Weekend came together and what it was like to train with Grandmaster Lee.

A weekend months in the making

This spring, Grandmasters Hee Kwan Lee and Adrian Garcia Torres of the Global Hapkido Association joined us for Black Belt Weekend. Grandmaster Lee is the president of the GHA and a world-renowned figure in the martial arts community, so having him on our mat was a true honor.

We believe events like this are worth the planning. For our students, a visit from the leaders of our association is more than a seminar. It's a chance to see where their training connects to a much bigger community of martial artists around the world.

The weekend opened with our first degree black belt test, where candidates showed everything they had worked so hard on. The next morning, our existing black belts completed a mid-term test of their skills, while Masters Austin, Garret and Bill demonstrated and tested for their next rank.

Learning Hapkido from the source

Grandmaster Lee also led a self-defense seminar, open to martial artists of every level and friendly for beginners and kids. He taught Hapkido techniques, including wrist locks and arm locks that many of our students had never seen before.

We believe learning from the leaders of our art keeps our training honest. Every school develops its own habits over time. Training directly with Grandmaster Lee reminds us where our techniques come from and shows us the details that make them work.

It also shows our newer students what's possible. Training with a Grandmaster is a reminder that martial arts is a lifelong path, and there's always more to learn.

Growing together as a GHA family

Black Belt Weekend capped off a big season. Sensei Litzy, Sensei Isabelle and Master Austin traveled to Northridge to support Master Garret's growing school. Sensei Meredith Sasseen visited all the way from Costa Rica and was awarded her certificate of membership in the Global Hapkido Association. Master Mel led a Women's Self-Defense Seminar on International Women's Day. We also started hosting Black Belt Experiences, where students of every rank can train alongside black belts and get a taste of throws, takedowns and black belt drills.

All of it points to the same idea: a black belt isn't earned alone, and the path is easier to see when you train next to people who have walked it.

Ending with a feast

After the tests and the seminar, we gathered at Manning Park for a dojo family potluck to celebrate our new black belts and our visiting Grandmasters. It was a great series of events, followed by a delicious feast.

Thank you to every family who brought a dish, helped set up or simply came to cheer. That's what makes a dojo a family.

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