As summer flies by, we look forward to our annual outdoor color belt test and cookout! On July 19th, 2025, we will meet out at Booth Lake Memorial Park (N8465 Townline Rd, East Troy, WI 53120) for a day of martial arts testing, food, music, games, and swimming.This year, we will be hosting the test and cookout at the VFS pavilion by the entrance/parking lot at the top of the hill. You can attend just the test or just the cookout portion, but we recommend staying for both. Not only do you get to have fun with your friends out of uniform, but it’s an event you can put on your black belt resume.
The Test
At 9 am, the park opens. Please be there as close to 9 am as possible. We want to warm up and start the test as early as possible. Unlike other tests:
- All ranks will test together at the same time
- You do not have to wear your full dress uniform. We encourage you to wear dark pants and one of our school tees. Wear the clothes you intend to test in. You can change into comfortable clothes after but a line at the bathroom will significantly delay our starting time.
- Your color belt is still required.
- You can test bare foot or in athletic shoes. We recommend getting a few kicks or forms in as practice this week. The day of the test is not a good time to find out if you can do your flying 540 kick in your steel toe work boots. DO NOT wear Crocs/Flip-Flops. They will fly off.
- Brown stripes on up should bring a weapon for their form and be prepared to show us at least 12 moves of a form. It does not have to be perfect. We want to see your ideas and help you progress before tournament season.
Food and Games
At 11:30 am, we hope to start the cookout. Master Deb and Miss Amanda smoke chicken and prepare beef for both walking tacos and traditional tacos. We also provide bottled water and powerade. We hope to start eating by 12 noon.
Sign up here to participate in the picnic! You can also sign up through the My Studio app or we have a paper copy in person. We ask $5 per person and a dish to pass. We recommend feeding 6-12 people with your dish. This helps us cover the cost of food and the park. We need you to sign up ahead of time so Miss Amanda can estimate the amount of meat needed.
Wrist bands and access to the park and any games are included in those prices. Booth Lake Memorial Park has a beautiful manicured beach and swimming area, and we highly recommend checking it out! We definitely recommend sunscreen, but Miss Amanda usually has extra (I’ve heard rumors she burns in the light of a computer monitor).
At 5 pm, we start cleaning up, but you are welcome to stay until the park closes at sunset.
We look forward to seeing you there!