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Schanika
Thomas- 1st Dan Black belt
Excerpts
from the The Trinidad Guardian written
by Shirvan Williams
 At
first glance, Schanika Thomas looks like the
average nine-year old. There's one difference
though: she's the youngest black belt at Purple
Dragon Karate Jiu Jujitsu Association.
There
are only two gold star black belts in Purple
Dragon. The gold star was introduced in 2001,
when Thomas' uncle performed exceptionally
well at his grading, the test for promotion.
Thomas was given the second star after she
topped all three categories of her grading
last December. Also being graded were people
between the ages of nine and 40- and Thomas
had the highest score of all.
Her
mother, Anika Thomas, said she decided to
let her daughter practice karate at such an
early age because she knew the art was fun
and it demanded high discipline as well.
Anika
Thomas said she was very familiar with the
time-consuming nature of karate, as her brother
and sister were both black belts. However,
she herself has never been involved in karate
or other sports. Anika feels that her daughter's
continued interest in karate has made her
very focused.
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