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Focus and Strength: Soo Bahk Do combines spirituality and skill

<p>A student attempts a running, jumping, spinning back kick. Breaking the 3/4-inch-thick board while completing this kick is required for advancement to the Cho Dan level (first degree midnight blue belt). According to Tom Nixon, an adult student at Sawbuck Do Jang of Whitefish, said they prefer not to use the term “black belt” because it denotes a term of finality or doneness. “Our Grandmaster, Hwang Kee, believed that a person should always be a scholar, and thus the midnight blue belt signifies the start of a new day, or a new level to grow from,” he said.</p&…

<p>Topher Blachly, 11, from Rocky Mountain Arts of Basalt, Colo., center, and other students gather before the start of the 128th Dan Classing or Shim Sa on Saturday, October 1, at the Whitefish Middle School. The students looked intensely focused. According to Tom Nixon part of the objective of this maritial art is to maintain a sense of now, ready and able to react. Also in the photo are Jacob Jeffries, 11 from Wasatch Martial Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah, left, and Tanner Armstrong, of Sawbuck Do Jang of Whitefish.</p>

<p>Above, Seth Carmichael, 11, of Sawbuck Do Jang of Whitefish, left, and Kiki Yeager, 10, of Sawtooth Martial Arts in Hailey, Idaho, center, perform the high punch or “sang dan mahkee” forms or “hyung.”</p><p></p>

<p>Emma Nixon, 13, left, of the Sawbuck Do Jang, and Jacob Jeffries, 11, from Wasatch Martial Arts of Salt Lake City, right, gather with other students going over their forms.</p>

<p>Eoghan Knibbe, 12, of Wasatch Martial Arts of Salt Lake City, performs in the one-step sparring portion of the Region 8 competition of the U.S. Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan 128th Dan Classing Championships Oct. 1 in Whitefish.</p>

<p>A stack of boards waiting to be broken on Saturday at Whitefish Middle School. The school gym housed the 128th Dan Classing or Shim Sa for this region on Saturday, October 1st. Students were in attendance from Montana, Idahow, Utah, Colorado and Arizona. Other students from Washington, part of the Pacific reegion were also in attendance.</p>

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| October 11, 2011 9:38 AM

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&lt;p&gt;Topher Blachly, 11, from Rocky Mountain Arts of Basalt, Colo., center, and other students gather before the start of the 128th Dan Classing or Shim Sa on Saturday, October 1, at the Whitefish Middle School. The students looked intensely focused. According to Tom Nixon part of the objective of this maritial art is to maintain a sense of now, ready and able to react. Also in the photo are Jacob Jeffries, 11 from Wasatch Martial Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah, left, and Tanner Armstrong, of Sawbuck Do Jang of Whitefish.&lt;/p&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;Above, Seth Carmichael, 11, of Sawbuck Do Jang of Whitefish, left, and Kiki Yeager, 10, of Sawtooth Martial Arts in Hailey, Idaho, center, perform the high punch or &#147;sang dan mahkee&#148; forms or &#147;hyung.&#148;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;Emma Nixon, 13, left, of the Sawbuck Do Jang, and Jacob Jeffries, 11, from Wasatch Martial Arts of Salt Lake City, right, gather with other students going over their forms.&lt;/p&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;Eoghan Knibbe, 12, of Wasatch Martial Arts of Salt Lake City, performs in the one-step sparring portion of the Region 8 competition of the U.S. Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan 128th Dan Classing Championships Oct. 1 in Whitefish.&lt;/p&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;A stack of boards waiting to be broken on Saturday at Whitefish Middle School. The school gym housed the 128th Dan Classing or Shim Sa for this region on Saturday, October 1st. Students were in attendance from Montana, Idahow, Utah, Colorado and Arizona. Other students from Washington, part of the Pacific reegion were also in attendance.&lt;/p&gt;