If you find yourself walking down a dark alley and are approached by ninjas Meena, Maree Andronaco and Maritza Vargas are the girls you want there.

Meena and Maree are second degree black belts and Maritza is a first degree black belt in tae kwon doe. Taekwondo is different from other martial arts, it is a Korean martial art and combines combat and self defense techniques with sport and exercise according to World Taekwondo Foundation.

Maritza worked for 6 years to receive a first degree black belt at Fearless Taekwondo Martial Arts. Maritza started training for her black belt when she was seven years old. She had to take a two day test to see if she qualified for a black belt.

The test was on everything that she had learned in the 6 years she had been training. Maritza said when she got her black belt she felt like it wasn’t real and she was dreaming. She said “I never imagined myself getting a black belt. Even after a week I still couldn’t believe it.” Maritza still attends tae kwon do 4 days a week to keep practicing.

Both Maree and Meena attend Taekwondo at The World Martial Arts Center 5 days a week.  It took Maree and Meena 6 years for them to earn their double black belt. They where 7 years old when they started to train for their black belt and they were 12 when they started to train for their second degree black belt. Both Maree and Meena had to take a promotion test to see if they had the skills to have a first degree black belt and a second degree black belt.

Maree said that when she earned it, “I had a super big smile and I had a feeling accomplishment.”

Meena said when she received it, “I was very happy and proud of myself when I got it. It also showed me how committed and how long I’ve been doing Taekwondo.