Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Black belts results of hard work

Bay of Plenty Times
25 Nov, 2016 02:48 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A group of seven young karate exponents have finally achieved the ultimate in the martial art - achieving their black belts.

In sport, as in life, there are times when individuals are tested right to the limit of what they are capable of.

For a group of seven young karate exponents, that time came two weeks ago, when they went through their first degree black belt testing under the guidance of Grant Buchanan, owner and senior chief instructor of Tauranga's Mile High Karate.

What they endured is not for the faint hearted but black belts are never given away.

They define a standard regarded around the world as the benchmark in high performance.

The new black belt holders, aged 12-17, came through a strenuous mental challenge after nearly 32 hours without sleep.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

For Gabe Fisher, Thomas Bayly, Luke Hardy, Chase Marshall, Parker Davis, Ryan Voss and Ethan Andrews it was truly a life-changing transition.

Buchanan, a 6th degree Kempo Karate Master, who opened Mile High Karate in Tauranga 17 years ago, said there is alot of preparation.

"They go through a prep cycle that takes eight weeks and those are two-hour classes, twice a week and they are really intense.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"They then get to the Friday before testing and do a full day at school or work. They show up here at 6 o'clock in the evening, they train with our senior students until about 10 and then they go right through the night continuing training.

"They do a 10k march, they go up the Mount and see the sun rise. They train all the way through until 10 o'clock the following morning, when they meet up with the rest of the students down at Memorial Park, and there is another two hours for them down there."

Buchanan says all martial arts are 90 per cent mental and 10 per cent physical.

"If you control the mind, you control the body and you can ask the body to do whatever you want it to do.

"Part and parcel of the prep cycle is we have gone right back to the start and revisited everything to make sure they are competent in all the things they have learned in the five years building up to it.

"On a physical, technical level they really know their stuff. But the character things they are being taught along the way, how to be focused and how to be disciplined, well this is their opportunity to kind of prove it.

"When the going gets tough, and boy is it tough, we keep going."

Luke Hardy, 17, who earned his second degree belt two weeks ago, says it has changed him for the better.

"I remember being that kid who couldn't be bothered and now I take on a lot of responsibility. It is really motivating and has given me confidence. Goals are achievable."
It is not just a boys' own club.

Three of the four students who attained their second degree black belts were female.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Nine Lotto players win nearly $31k each in Second Division – where tickets were sold

06 Jul 05:31 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

06 Jul 03:55 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Region's first learning hub for migrant parents a 'transformative step'

05 Jul 06:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Nine Lotto players win nearly $31k each in Second Division – where tickets were sold

Nine Lotto players win nearly $31k each in Second Division – where tickets were sold

06 Jul 05:31 AM

Lotto First Division Powerball was not struck and has jackpotted to $10m on Wednesday.

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

06 Jul 03:55 AM
Region's first learning hub for migrant parents a 'transformative step'

Region's first learning hub for migrant parents a 'transformative step'

05 Jul 06:00 PM
'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

04 Jul 08:45 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP