North Graduation – Sunday 23rd August 2026 🥋🎓

It’s Graduation time again. Yes, already.

Somehow, we’ve gone from “Happy New Year!” to “Where has the summer gone?” in the blink of an eye.

And before we know it, hundreds of our students from across north Manchester will be walking into the Sports Hall at Bury Grammar School on Sunday 23rd August ready to do what they’ve been working towards for the last couple of months:

Show what they’ve learned. Earn their next belt. And give their parents something else to photograph approximately 847 times.

Because apparently one photo of your child in a new belt is never enough.

🎓 What is Graduation actually about?

If you’re a seasoned FMAC family, you already know the drill.

If this is your first Graduation, don’t panic.

Graduation isn't designed to catch students out or suddenly introduce a terrifying collection of techniques nobody has ever seen before.

It’s a celebration of progress.

Students have already been assessed in their normal classes by their Instructors. Graduation is the opportunity to bring all those months of training together in a much bigger environment.

There’ll be more people.

More noise.

More parents.

More cameras.

And, inevitably, at least one person will forget where they put their belt.

But that’s part of the experience.

For younger students especially, Graduation is about recognition, confidence and achievement. They get to step onto the floor, show what they can do and receive that next belt in front of the people who matter most to them.

As students progress through the ranks, Graduation becomes more formal and the expectations increase.

Either way, the principle remains the same:

Train hard. Do your best. Keep learning. Keep progressing.

And enjoy the moment.

📍 Where is Graduation?

We’re back at the Sports Hall at Bury Grammar School, Tenterden Street, Bury, BL9 0HN.

The entrance is on the Boys’ School side of the site, on the sharp corner approximately halfway down Tenterden Street.

If you’ve been before, you’ll know.

If you haven’t…

Look for a bunch of people wandering around in martial arts uniforms.

You’ll probably find us.

There is parking available on-site, subject to availability, with additional street parking nearby. There is also paid parking at Castle Leisure Centre, just across Jubilee Way.

Coming by public transport? Bury Interchange is around a five-minute walk away.

⏰ When do I need to be there?

This bit is important.

Your time is based on your CURRENT belt/grade — not the belt you hope to receive.

And please don't arrive an hour early because you're excited.

We love your enthusiasm.

We do not love having 300 people standing outside the Sports Hall asking:

“Can we come in yet?”

Please arrive around 15 minutes before your allocated time. This gives you enough time to arrive, get yourself organised and get ready without turning the place into a very sweaty airport departure lounge.

Sunday 23rd August

Current Grade	Graduation Time
🐯 Tigers	9.00am
⚪🟡 White & Yellow Belts	10.00am
🟠🔵 Orange & Blue Belts	11.00am
🟢 Green Belts	12.00pm
🔴 Red Belts – 3rd & 2nd Gups	1.00pm
🔴 Red Belts – 1st Gups	2.00pm
🔵 Midnight Blue Belts	3.00pm

Again: attend according to your CURRENT belt/grade.

Not the belt you're getting.

Not the belt you fancy getting.

Not the belt your mum told everyone you're getting.

Your current one.

🐯 Tigers – 9.00am

Let's start with the people who have probably been looking forward to this more than anyone else.

The Tigers.

For our youngest martial artists, Graduation is essentially a very exciting Tang Soo Do class with a lot more people watching.

They'll demonstrate the things they've been learning in class, follow the Instructors and show everyone what they've been working on.

And, yes, there is a very good chance that parents will be recruited for some of the self-defence activities.

You have been warned.

The Tigers may also get asked some of their familiar questions about Tang Soo Do, the Do Jang, Do Bok and their training.

Parents: don't worry if your child suddenly forgets absolutely everything they've ever learned the moment they walk through the door.

It happens.

Interestingly, the child is usually fine.

It's the parent who is sitting there thinking:

“WHY CAN'T THEY REMEMBER THE HORSE STANCE? WE PRACTISED THIS IN THE KITCHEN LAST NIGHT.”

Relax.

They've got this.

⚪🟡 White & Yellow Belts – 10.00am

This group includes our newer students who have progressed beyond the Tiger programme, together with White and Yellow Belts.

The focus will be on the syllabus they've been working on during classes, along with previous material where appropriate.

The important thing here isn't trying to cram six months of martial arts into Saturday night.

Don't.

If you've trained consistently, listened to your Instructors and practised in class, you're already doing what you need to do.

Just turn up, listen and demonstrate what you've learned.

Simple.

🟠🔵 Orange & Blue Belts – 11.00am

Things start getting a little more complicated here.

More techniques.

More combinations.

More stances.

More self-defence.

And, for our Blue Belts, the opportunity to demonstrate Cho Bo Ja Hyung, the Beginner Form.

This is one of those stages where you start to realise that your Tang Soo Do journey isn't just about learning individual kicks and punches.

You're beginning to put everything together.

And yes, sometimes your brain will decide that the technique you've performed perfectly 400 times in class has suddenly been deleted.

Don't worry.

Take a breath.

Listen to your Instructor.

Carry on.

🟢 Green Belts – 12.00pm

Green Belt territory.

Which means two things.

You're getting serious.

And...

Bring your sparring gear.

Seriously.

Bring.

Your.

Gear.

Because forgetting it means taking the famous walk to the Masters' Desk.

The walk itself isn't particularly difficult.

It's the audience.

And the knowledge that everyone knows exactly why you're walking over there.

Green Belts will be working through their current forms, self-defence and sparring elements.

And remember: when it comes to sparring, don't automatically look for the person you train with every week.

One of the best things about Graduation is getting to work with students from other Centres.

Different height.

Different style.

Different timing.

Different reactions.

That's where things get interesting.

And that's where you learn.

🔴 Red Belts – 3rd & 2nd Gups – 1.00pm

Welcome to the point where “I've been doing this for a while” starts becoming much more obvious.

Red Belts will be demonstrating their forms, self-defence and sparring.

This is where standards really matter.

The Masters will be watching.

The Instructors will be watching.

Your training partners will be watching.

Your family will be watching.

And there's always that one person filming everything on their phone.

So no pressure.

Actually...

There is a little pressure.

But that's good.

Learning to perform when people are watching is part of martial arts.

It's also a pretty useful life skill.

🔴 1st Gups – 2.00pm

Our senior Red Belts have reached another stage of their journey.

The techniques become more advanced, the expectations rise and there is more opportunity to demonstrate the skills they've developed over a considerable amount of training.

At this level, it's not simply about remembering what comes next.

It's about how you perform it.

Control.

Technique.

Timing.

Power.

Focus.

And the ability to stay composed when several hundred eyeballs suddenly appear to be pointing in your direction.

That's martial arts.

🔵 Midnight Blue Belts – 3.00pm

And finally...

The Midnight Blue Belts.

These students have travelled a long way since tying their first white belt.

They'll be demonstrating their Hyungs, more advanced techniques, self-defence and sparring.

And, naturally...

BRING YOUR SPARRING GEAR.

Yes, even you.

No, being a Midnight Blue Belt does not grant you immunity from forgetting your equipment.

We've checked the rulebook.

It's definitely not in there.

This is another opportunity for our senior students to demonstrate not only what they know, but the maturity, control and confidence they've developed along the way.

📸 And then... the important bit

You've trained.

You've demonstrated.

You've received your belt.

You've had the obligatory handshake.

Now it's time for the photos.

Lots of them.

The “new belt” photo.

The family photo.

The photo with your Instructor.

The photo with your training partner.

The photo where someone blinked.

The photo where someone wasn't looking.

The photo where Dad somehow has his eyes closed.

The photo that was supposed to be the last one but somehow wasn't.

You know the drill.

Take the pictures.

These moments matter.

Because one day you'll look back and realise just how far you've come.

And don't forget to tag us in on social media (it really helps with our AI search visibility 🙏)

❤️ It's bigger than a belt

It's easy to look at Graduation and think the important bit is the new belt.

And, obviously, the new belt is pretty cool.

But the belt is really just a symbol.

Behind it are all those classes.

The nights when you couldn't be bothered but came anyway.

The techniques you couldn't get right at first.

The times you had to try again.

The friendships you've made.

The Instructors who've corrected you approximately 17,000 times.

The parents who've driven students to class.

The moments where you surprised yourself.

And all those tiny improvements that eventually add up to something pretty significant.

That's what we're celebrating.

Progress.

👊 One final piece of advice...

Don't overthink it.

If you can do it in class, you can do it at Graduation.

Listen to your Instructor.

Watch the demonstrations.

Take your time.

Do your best.

And if something goes wrong?

Keep going.

Because that's one of the biggest lessons martial arts teaches us:

You don't have to be perfect. You just have to keep moving forward.

So, Tigers, Gups, senior students, parents, grandparents, siblings and everyone else...

We'll see you at Bury Grammar School on Sunday 23rd August.

Bring your Do Bok.

Bring your belt.

Bring your sparring gear if you're Green Belt or above.

Bring your biggest smile.

And perhaps bring a phone with plenty of storage.

It's Graduation Day.

Let's make it a good one. 🥋🎓👊

SBN B Nelson