This past weekend was the dan (black belt) grading at my karate school. It was an excellent grading, and now that it’s over I wanted to share the photos of Senpai that I took for his grading submission.

Every black belt I know dreads the photography part of a grading. It’s hard to try and look your karate-cool-best when you are in your uniform, in public, and feeling a little bit silly. I was no different for mine. 15 years of practice and there I was having trouble coming up with a move that would make me look like Chuck Norris without feeling like a complete loser.

Senpai’s photos, though I know he didn’t feel too comfortable either, turned out excellent. I think out of all the black belt shots I’ve taken for folks these are easily the best so far. The dramatic backdrop certainly added a lot to it – he actually climbed halfway up the waterfall for a few of the shots. I’ve got to figure out how to top this for the next one!