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Master Glen Arnold is seen here with his instructor Grand Master C.S. Kim, the same man who taught Chuck Norris and in front of a board of eight Senior Level Masters.

But the next six months may be his toughest challenge yet.

The mission is simple—wait.

Arnold, head instructor at Mount Pleasant Karate, recently took the Master belt test for 5th degree black belt in Pittsburgh.

The promotion test lasted two days and approximately 20 hours.

Each day consisted of 10 hours.

Included in the tests are rigorous fitness exercises, fighting multiple opponents with weapons, and power demonstrations by breaking over 6 inches ( thick) of wood.

He is expected to find out the results in May.

“I won’t officially get the results for about six months. It’s tough to just sit and wait, but when you’ve trained for as long as I have you hopefully have developed a level of patience,” Arnold said. “Hopefully at the end of the day you don’t think about it too much. When my instructor feels the time is right, he’ll let me know.”

Since his promotion to Master six years ago, Arnold has had to take bi-annual  recertification tests, teach over 10,000 hours, and prove himself worthy of promotion.

He took the belt test for 5th degree black belt with his instructor Grandmaster C.S. Kim, the same man who taught Chuck Norris and in front of a board of eight Senior Level Masters.

“The test was grueling. It involved a lot of physical endurance, fighting with other masters, your endurnace really gets tested,” Arnold said.

While fighting with one Master, Arnold suffered a broken rib during the match, but finished out the final five hours of the day.

“It made it very difficult. Again, that’s where the endurance  aspect really factors in,” Arnold said.

He expalined how the broken rib transpired.

“I tripped over another test candidate and took a sidekick right into my ribs.”

One of the tests Arnold took after sustainign the broken rib was knuckle push-ups on wood. He was kept in plank postion for nearly three minutes without moving.

“With a broken rib, that makes for a long set of push-ups,” Arnold said.

The highlight for Arnold came late in the second day of testing.

“Breaking thick pine wood was the highlight of my day. Speed breaking six boards with a  wheel kick after a broken rib was a great feeling,” he said.

It’s been six years since Arnold had his last promotion test.

“When testting happens at this point, it’s a suprise. You say ‘yes sir’ and do your best,” he said. “My instrcutor is a very tradiotnal man. My attitude, how I present myself,  is as much of a factor in the decision for me to be elgable to test. If my attidue was bad, he wouldn’t have tested me.”  

It will be Grandmaster Kim who will make the decision on wheather or not Arnold is qualifed to be a 5th degree black belt.

Grandmaster Kim is nearly 70 years old.

“I don’t know how many more times I’ll be able to have this privaledge to test in front of him. I want him to be proud of me like I am of my students,” Arnold said.

Arnold was named the 2008 International Tang Soo Do Federation Outstanding Instructor Award.

Last year, he was a ITF Instructors Conference Participant.

An Internationally Certified Master Instructor, Arnold has taught over 15,000 hours.

But when he got the call to be tested, he had mixed feelings.

“I was excited, humbled, and also quite a bit nervous even after all this time,” Arnold said. “When I go in front of my instrcor, the best twon so karate man in world, you realize there’s still a lot you don’t know.”

Should he pass this test, it will make him one of the top 10 highest ranked black belts in the  The International Tang Soo Do Federation which has a membership of over 250,000 people.

If he does pass, no doubt Arnold will make himself and his students proud.

But more importanlty he’ll make his instructor proud.

Now that’s something worth waiting for.

(Mike Santillo can be reached at news@moultrienews.com. See more stories online at www.moultrienews.com)