My 1st Degree Black Belt:

I started martial arts at TKC in February of 2006. When I was a white belt Ms. Erin was still teaching the juniors. My other instructors were Mr. Ash, Miss Yalda, and Miss Sally. Ms. Erin left when I was a yellow belt, and Miss Yalda left when I was a green belt. Since then I have had Mr. Ash and Miss Sally as my instructors. Since I became a black belt candidate Mr. Fariborz has been my instructor.
When I started at TKC we were living very far. We were living in Castaic. I was going to school at St. Mels. My school was in Woodland Hills, so on the days that I had classes at TKC I had to go to my grandmothers house after school and wait until my mom would take me to TKC. And after my Hapkido classes were finished we had to drive 1 hour to get home because there was lots of traffic. Many days I did not feel like going to my classes because I was tired and I didnt want to go to my grandmothers house all the time. But my mom and my dad said that I had to go to my classes because they were good for me and they said that when I started something I should do my best and finish it.
I have many good memories about my classes at TKC. I loved the games that we played with Mr. Ash at the end of the classes. I loved the trampoline and the rope climbing. My favorite memory is when I got my green belt. The first reason is that I got a black uniform, and the second reason is that my classes changed and they started later.
The first year at TKC my mom used to take me to all most of my classes. When I became a green belt or blue belt my dad started taking me to my classes. Also my dad started taking classes himself. I loved it when my mom or my dad would sit and watch me in my classes. They always told me that I was doing a great job and they always told me to do my best even when I was tired and didnt want to go to class. I want to thank my mom and my dad for taking me to TKC and always telling me good things about my training. I want to thank my mom for washing my uniform and making sure that my hair was done before classes. She worked very hard so that my dad and I could go to our classes and get our black belts. I love and thank her very, very much.
Since I started martial arts I have become more and more confident about myself. I have become stronger also. I can climb the rope 3 times without touching the floor. I also learned more about respecting people. I also learned about discipline and hard work. I also made many good friends especially Cailee.
Since I became a candidate I had to work harder than before. I had to train with my team and I had to run with my team. My dad is a candidate also, so we have been training together. It is fun to train with my dad in the same classes and outside of classes also. But sometimes he is very serious and I dont enjoy the classes as much.
I am very happy that I am getting my black belt. I have worked very hard for 3 years to get here. The last 5 months have been extra hard, especially Saturday and Sunday mornings when I had to wake up at 7:00 in the morning. But I think it is worth it if you really want to become a black belt.
I want to thank all my instructors especially Mr. Ash for helping me to get here. I will miss the fun classes I had with him, but I think he is very proud that his junior students are becoming black belts.
This is my martial arts story at TKC. I hope you enjoy it.

My Red and Black (Qualification) Belt:

My Red Belt:

My Brown Belt:

My Blue Belt:

My Green Belt:

My Yellow Belt:

My Orange Belt:

My Essays

I want to become a black belt because I have worked very hard to earn it. I have had an experience from white belt to red belt that it does not get harder, it gets easier if you try your best. I remember in the beginning I did not want to come to the classes because sometimes I was tired or just didnt feel like it. I remember I even said that I didnt want to do karate any more. But my parents told me that I had to continue to see good results in the future.
Karate has made me more confident in my strength and my physical activities. I had fun playing the games we played when I was in the white through yellow belt classes. Now I realize that the games that we played such as the helicopter helped me on timing, flexibility, and balance. When I moved to the green belt class and higher, we did not play games as much as we did. The classes were more serious and there was much more to learn. Now that I am a red belt and getting ready for my black belt tests, I know that everything that we did in Mr. Ashs classes was to get us ready for this.
I have been at TKC for almost 3 years. I have missed very few classes, and I worked hard all the time. I did my best for all this time, and that is why I want to become a black belt.

My Letters of Recommendations

How can any good parent recommend his/her child for any position or endeavor without appearing to brag or exaggerate? How can we tell you about the Nicolette that we know as her parents without the appearance of boasting? We can only hope that during the 3 1/3 years that Nicolette has been a student at TKC you have had glimpses of the incredible person that she is.
First and foremost Nicolette can be described best as a happy soul. If anybody who has known Nicolette, even for the shortest period of time, is asked to describe her, the first thing they would comment on would be her signature ear-to-ear genuine smile. In all the time that Nicolette has attended her classes at TKC, not once has she failed to have that smile on her face even on the occasions that she did not want to attend because she was too tired but she did because we insisted; Mr. Ash would surely attest to this.
But why would we recommend her to take the black belt exam? Surely just being a happy kid is not a sufficient enough reason for such an important undertaking. We recommend her for this honor because, based on our understanding and comprehension of what TKCs philosophy, ideals, and principles of Black Belt Excellence are, we feel that Nicolette possesses many of these values and characteristics, and with appropriate guidance and support she will be able to achieve even more.
Nicolette is caring, sensitive, sympathetic, extremely intelligent and witty, self-confident, strong-willed, friendly, respectful, sharing, and honest. She is hard working and dedicated to the task at hand. She is not a perfectionist (thank God), but she knows and is sure of what she needs to do and how to do it, and she will not rest until it is done.
With regards to her martial arts, she is enthusiastic to learn, dedicated to improving what she has learned, respectful of her instructors, helpful to her classmates in any capacity, and thrilled to perform to the best of her ability.
But we believe the most important reason that she should be considered an earnest black belt candidate is that it means so much to her. One recent incident demonstrated this for us concretely. She was being taped while performing her open hand forms (as requested by Master Fariborz), and at one point she actually started crying because she blanked out during Basic Form #3 and could not finish the form. It took her nearly 5 minutes to calm down and redo the form. Now, some may say that a black belt candidate should be able to control his/her emotions better; but tell that to all the adult candidate who shed tears at the Black Belt Spectacular. Just like them, Nicolette holds this honor and privilege in the highest regards.
Greg & Afie Alvandian

Nicolette Alvandian is an earnest child with a strong drive to excel. She is sweet and respectful to others. She shows character in being able to admit to mistakes, and correct them, be it in her behavior or her tasks at hand. Nicolette connects well with her environment and is quick to offer help to those in it. She takes pride in all her endeavors and if she has any short coming it may be in the uncompromising standards she sets for herself. Yet, I have no doubt her keen intelligence will compensate for this as she matures.

To Whom It May Concern:
Nicolette is a responsible conscientious student who always tries her best. She is purposeful and budgets her time wisely so that she can complete her assignments appropriately. She demonstrates a superior grasp of concepts. She is polite and considerate to all. She is an asset to our class.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Kaplan
3rd grade teacher
Chaparral Elementary School