Graduation - June 2025
- North Manchester FMAC
- 7 days ago
- 6 min read
Our next Graduation will be at the usual venue - Bury Grammar School, Tenterden Street, Bury BL9 0HN - on Sunday 15th June (just a quick reminder for all the dads out there - it's also Father's Day!).
There are alternate Graduations for those unable to attend on the 15th due to religious, cultural, work or holiday reasons. If you are attending any of these alternate Graduations, you need to have requested one when you put your form in & you will have been informed of the details directly by text - otherwise, we'll see you at Bury Grammar School on Sunday. If you haven't submitted a Graduation form, the next grading opportunity will be in August.
Make sure you turn up for your agreed Graduation; otherwise your belt & certificate won't be there for you. Anyone who has a last minute disaster/illness should contact their Instructor for advice/guidance.
How to get there?
If you have not been before, the entrance to Bury Grammar School is off Tenterden Street. We are on the Boys School site, in the Sports Hall. The entrance to the site is on the sharp corner midway down Tenterden Street.
There is parking on site and there is also limited parking (check restrictions) in the streets around the School. There is also plenty of paid parking at the Castle Leisure Centre, just across the road from Bury Grammar School.
For those who would prefer to use public transport (certainly the easy option for many of the Prestwich Students!), the buses and trams terminate at Bury Interchange where it is just a short 5 minute walk to the Graduation venue.
You can find advance notice of all of the 2025 Graduation time/dates in the Centres, on Facebook, Instagram and on the website - as a reminder you can find them here.
If you have never been to a Graduation before, check out what some of the students say about it here.
Tigers (9.00am)
When you arrive, you will need to register with Mrs Greenlees in the Reception area. Make sure you give her your name when you arrive so that we can ensure all certificates are present for the end of the Graduation. Please don't arrive too early - 8.45am is plenty of time to get sorted and allows for the hall to be set up.
All the Instructors will be there to help our youngest students remember and show off the syllabus, so no need for any Graduation day jitters from parents or Tigers! Mrs Greenlees from the Bury Centre (she's lovely!) will be leading the way, with other trainee Instructors backing her up on the other side of the room, so make sure you do exactly what you do in class & you will be fine!
For the Tigers, Graduation is just like another big class. They just need to show up in their uniforms, do what they've been doing all along in class and they'll be good to go! Honestly, the parents are usually more nervous than the Tigers.
At Graduation, Master Parkinson may ask the following questions:
What is the name of our martial art? (Tang Soo Do)
Where do we practice our martial art? (In the Do Jang)
What is our uniform called? (Do Bok)
What is the new belt that you will collect called? (Dee)
What is the Korean for Roundhouse Kick? (Dullyo Cha Gi)
What is the Korean for Low Block? (Ha Dan Mahk Kee)
What is the Korean for Back Stance? (Hu Gul Jaseh)
Plus all the things we have been discussing as part of our ‘First Aid’ theme.
Be there 10 minutes early & wait in the waiting area to be called through just before 9.00am.
Just like in class, they will be demonstrating:
Low Block
Roundhouse Kick
Jump Roundhouse Kick
Chop & Punch
Back Stance
Cross-Hand self defence (you will need to get involved, parents)
and a Combination of Chop, Reverse Punch, Roundhouse Kick
Be sure to snap tons of photos and share your awesome Tiger moments on the Tiger Facebook pages. And hey, don't miss out on grabbing a pic with your favourite Instructor (Master H Nelson is winning the competition to get the most pictures with their Tigers, so help them out!).
Middleton - https://www.facebook.com/FMACMiddletonTigers
Prestwich - https://www.facebook.com/FMACPrestwichTigers
White & Yellow Belts (10.00am)
This group is for any striped belts who've moved up from Tigers as well as all the current White & Yellow Belts. Mr Ogden from the Middleton Centre is taking care of this group at Graduation, and you'll see some of our 'friendly' faces up front too. Make sure to get there 10 minutes early and hang out in the waiting area until you're called in as a group.
If you've never been to a graduation, see what some students have to say about it here.
As a reminder, your syllabus is:
Low Block (Ha Dan Mahk Kee)
Roundhouse Kick (Dullya Cha Gi)
Both Chop Kicks (Ahneso Pahkuro Cha Gi & Pahkeso Ahnuro Cha Gi)
Chop & Cross
Back Stance (Hu Gul Jaseh)
Same-Side self-defence #1
Yellow Belts will be expected to remember the previous syllabus (demonstrated in April)!
You can check out the terms you need to know here. And if you want to see some videos on different techniques, click here.
Orange & Blue Belts (11.00am)
This group, led by Miss Armitage from the Boothstown & Withington Centres, will show you the current syllabus (above) and also go over some of the techniques you've learned before.
High Blocks & Middle Blocks
Front, Side, Horse & Cross-Legged Stances
Jab & Cross plus Back Fist & Punch
Front & Side Kicks
2 onto 2 & Cross-Hand Self-Defences
On top of all that, Blue Belts will be showing off the Beginner Form (Cho Bo Ja Hyung).
You can find the Blue Belt Terminology in the Student Zone here. Make sure to turn in your completed blue Beginners Workbook before Graduation. If you've misplaced yours, you can buy a replacement from the Club Shop or through the Wix App.
6th Gups to 4th Gups (Green Belts) (12.00pm)
Remember your sparring gear - unless you want to be the one doing the "Oops, I forgot" shuffle to the front desk... Mr McCann from the Hindley Centre is in charge here, so bring your A-Game, or at least your "I'm trying really hard" face!
Your focus should be Basic Form #3 (Kee Cho Hyung Sam Bu) & several of the 2 v 2 Self-Defences (just what we have been working on in class).
When it comes to the sparring, never spar with students from your own Centre - that will help you to improve your sparring skills.
3rd & 2nd Gups (Red Belts) (1.00pm)
We're looking forward to an awesome demo from the Red Belts, led by Mr Ogden (again)! Besides that, you might be asked to do any Basic Form and the current Pyung Ahn Hyung (Pyung Ahn Sam Dan Hyung).
Plus, you'll be showing the right number of 2 v 2 Self-Defences.
Lastly, make sure you bring your sparring gear! And remember to spar with people from other Centres - you can spar with each other every week!
1st Gups (Senior Red Belts) (2.00pm)
Besides all the cool techniques the 2nd/3rd Gups are showing off, you get the extra fun of performing the previous Pyung Ahn Hyung (Pyung Ahn Ee Dan Hyung). Mr McCann is in the hot seat again.
Black Belt Presentation (3.00pm)
All the current Dans completed their Graduations on Saturday 7th June at the Dan Shim Sa. This time slot will be used to present the Dan Certificates to the new 1st (Cho), 2nd (Ee) and 3rd (Sam) Dans
Don't forget, in order to go to Graduation, you need to have passed the rigorous assessment by your Instructor and show you know the syllabus appropriate your age and level. If you can nail that at our Centres, then Graduation will be a breeze. So, have fun on the day and use it as a chance to learn even more! Let's do it!
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