Mandy Davis, 10, has been doing martial arts on and off since she was four, and has been with her current karate school for more than a year.

She completed her yellow belt grading recently and said she had to perform a few techniques she'd learnt in class which focuses predominantly on using mid to lower kicks and an open hand technique for close-in fighting.

She said to get her yellow belt she had to do the San Chin, which is the first Kata (series of movements).

"I had to use open hand spear striking and circular blocking techniques."

She said she also had to show a knowledge of common skills, such as punching, blocking, kicking and foot work.

Mandy said the grading was hard in some places, and she had to make a few attempts before she was successful.

"I felt nervous I may not get my yellow belt, and a little worried that I might not have been performing the moves correctly," she said.

Mandy said she was currently in the process of learning some new Kata techniques which involve a combination of blocking, punching and kicking moves.

She said she was excited about learning the two-person practical application for the second kata needed for her next grading.

Mandy said she'll be learning this soon, for her orange belt.

Meanwhile, second pupil, Chloe Field who is also 10 years old got her white belt with yellow stripe on the grading day.

Chloe was absent from training on the day of the interview, but instructor Geoff Peady, said she went really well, and had been training for a long time too.

The Uechi-Ryu Karate School on average trains classes of a dozen kids from the ages of eight to 15 year olds.