Get Up and Move Toward Success

/ Bejanian Martial Arts/

By: Master Varouj Bejanian
Featured in Issue #4 of World Success Magazine

As we approach to our schools’ eighteen-year anniversary, our black belt candidates are getting ready for their physical test. We have never had this many students advancing to First and Second Degree Black Belts in the history of our organization. Some of these students have been with us for more than a decade.

The students who are going for their Second Degree have been attending Bejanian Martial Arts for thirteen / fourteen years. Among these amazing people is Mr. Manuk Lelikian, achieving to the rank of Fourth Degree Black Belt after eighteen continuous years of practicing martial arts, always standing strong and supportive of Bejanian Martial Arts in any challenging situations. Mr. Manuk always makes all our school challenges, his challenge, so I don’t have to go through them alone.

Second Degree Black Belts:
Miss Madeline Bejanian, Mr. Alec Bejanian, Mr. George Arakelyan, Mr. Artin Markaradi and Mr. Arsen Artenyan.

First Degree Black Belts:
Joanna Artenyan, Vaheh Mardiroosian, Gregory Babikian, Arek Aghamanoukian, Alex Chris Shamiryan, Kavon Barghani, Menua Margousian, Mineh Antanesian, Kristina Gevorgyan, Artin Amirian, Aram Amiryan, Mariam Khechumyan, Kris Hacopian, Isabelle Kasumyan, Alen Melkonyan, Theodore Gharabegian, Eric Arutyunyan, Natalie Isaghulian, Narek Ekmekchyan, Harutyun Khachikyan.

Congratulations to all Candidates!

I am proud of all your years of hard work, dedication, enthusiasm, patience and above all your spirit of never giving up for reaching your highest levels of excellence. As Master Instructor, this is the greatest honor to promote you to these magnificent ranks. This goes way beyond martial arts, it is a lifelong accomplishment.

“A person of excellence is not the one who doesn’t fall down,

He falls down, even cries for a while; …

And then wipes his tears,

Picks himself up,

And continues moving forward.”

In order to become great, we fail, but we never stay there, we get up and move towards success. This is the spirit and the philosophy of our school and I hope all our black belts have discovered it and they will take these principles and apply them in their daily life.

I thank all the black belts and black belt candidates for helping to create this outstanding environment not only for our generation but also for many more generations to come. 

I wish the black belts and black belt candidates will find and discover their true happiness.

To get to know our candidates we dedicated this issue to them, we have asked them to share their input of what a black belt means to them and what important lessons that they have learned after all their years of martial arts training, from white belt to black belt.

I encourage all our readers to meet with the black belt candidates, ask about the special projects they have worked on for many months in order to make our community a better place. Ask them about the acts of kindnesses they have done.  Also, ask them about the special self-discovery tests they have gone through, give our candidates words of encouragement. Support them by attending their rank advancement ceremony.

I wish all our readers joy and I hope you fulfill your goals and dreams.


- Varouj Bejanian

“A Message from Master Varouj” is published quarterly in World Success Magazine.

Featured in Issue #4 October 2017
Download a copy of Issue #4 here