mmg.com.au

Three Benalla Kyokushin Karate students and their instructor will be heading to Sydney on March 1 to complete their gradings.

Nathan Pendergast, Livinya Dean, Darcy Cooke and their instructor Chloe Woolcock are all looking forward to what is likely to be a gruelling test of strength, skill, stamina and courage.

Sensei Woolcock has been instructing the class upstairs at Carrier St for the past seven years and said she was proud of her students and confident they would show a lot of endurance, represent Benalla well and achieve the higher rankings they sought at the grading.

‘‘They all are ready for it,’’ she said.

‘‘We will all be training hard in the lead-up to the grading, but we know what is expected — so we’ll be doing everything we can to prepare for it.

Sensei Woolcock has a challenge ahead herself and will be attempting to rise from the ranks of senior brown belt to the coveted black belt level.

All told she has about 15 dedicated students and runs both childrens and adults classes, training twice a week in central Benalla.

‘‘My highest ranking student is Livinya Dean, who is on her green belt.

Dean and Pendergast will be grading in the hope getting their senior green belts, while Cooke will be going for his green belt.

The weekend camp at Sydney will also require them to show off their ‘‘katas’’; a sequential set of movements that must be mastered at each stage on the road to karate success.

The test of skill and endurance will also require the students to do a ‘‘beep’’ sprinting test as well as weights.

Sensei Woolcock’s grading is expected to be an especially intense three-hour saga that will require an extreme level of fitness and much preparation.