A crowed of over 200 attended the semi-annual Black Belt Spectacular on May 5 th at Silver Creek High School in Longmont. Presented by the nationally recognized Tran's Martial Arts schools, the spring show presented a wide variety of demonstrations. From the 4- to 7-year-olds, Lil' Dragons, to the adult Thai Kickboxing, team demonstrations and the highlight of event, the testing and presentation of Black Belt candidates.

Hai Tran, founder of the school, and his 4 brothers and sisters immigrated from VietNam and began teaching out of their garage. They now operate 5 schools in the Front Range area, in Ft. Collins, Loveland, Longmont, Boulder and in Denver. With well over 500 students, the martial arts and fitness centers have become a popular place for people and families of all ages. Gustavo Giller, general manager of the Longmont Tran's, says, "Trans' is a wonderful (martial arts) experience, it's family orientated and teaches life skills."

Three candidates received their Second Degree Black Belts, or Second Dan, while 25 candidates received their First Dan, or first black belt, after a variety of testing, such as self defense, black belt forms, musical forms, combinations and board breaking. At 56 years old, Tom Fetcher, who has been blind since birth and has a partial hearing loss, was the oldest to demonstrate his black belt skills. Fletcher states, "I have gained self-confidence and peace within myself. All the people that I worked with have very interesting lives and have enriched mine in return." The youngest candidate was 2 nd grade student Kyle Cunningham, who attends Flagstaff Academy and has been training for 5 years. Kyle says, "I learned by doing my best, I could achieve whatever I want to, which helps me in school and sports."

The Black Belt candidates were of all ages and a diverse group indeed, from a FAA Certified Flight Instructor, to paraprofessional, to one of the Front Range's most popular Veterinarian's, all dedicated and working for years to reach their martial arts goal. For more information about Tran's Martial Arts, you can go to their website at www.trans-mafc.com .