Congratulations to Elaina Gerdes Tama Black Belt test. After 6 years of training at TAMA martial arts, Elaina Gerdes finally achieved the Tama coveted Black Belt in Tama Ryu Kempo Karate under GM Manuel Taningco. She started in our famous “Mighty Mite” children karate program ages 4-6 years of age. She eventually graduated from Mighty Mite to the Superkidz Karate Class ages 7 to 12.
Her maturity and being the responsible person at an early age are some of her attributes in which her parents have also instilled in her. The martial arts training help guide her core skills along with leadership management program that TAMA had instilled in her. Couple with maturity, responsibility, empathy, discipline, and focus creates an amazing caring person as shared by her parents. She demonstrates her responsibility very well at home and at school. She is one out of three children and the oldest of the three. She had learned responsibility early in life at home and it transcends into her training in martial arts. Martial arts have reaffirmed that value of responsibility when at the middle point of her martial arts training, she started in leadership teaching management at a very early age and rank. She loves giving back and enjoy helping others succeed. It is one of her trait helping people comes naturally for her. She is just natural at it and loves doing it. It shows in her teaching leadership when she helps teach at TAMA martial arts center.
Elaina love to read and does very well in her math subjects in school. She volunteers with her parents doing pet therapy with other children who have a disability. She loves animals and cares a lot about people. Her dog’s name is Clovis which is a breed of Doodle. She takes Clovis to many of these volunteer events for pet therapy.
Elaina started when she was close 6 years old at TAMA. When her parents were looking for an activity for Elaina, she tried several sports including gymnastics. She gave a karate a try and she really loves it! She developed the fond of learning karate and the rest is history.
Ty Wetzel was her uki for the self-defense and Elaina sparred Seth Brown, Katie Cardula, Ty Wetzel, Riley Lombard, and Lindsang toward the end of her test.
It took her a little over 3 hours of her coveted TAMA black belt test to complete in front of 5 Black Belt Board Examiners. Lindsang, who recently tested her black belt, Greg Dinsmoor, Randal Dannenfelser, Camila Dannenfelser, and GM Manuel Taningco were present as the TAMA Board Examiners for Elaina Gerdes.