"It's good for disciplining myself and respecting other people," says Stephen Mendoza, 23, who began studying tae kwon do four years ago.

Mendoza and Johnny Vargas, 14, both earned their second-degree black belts after two days of testing in November. The two study the Korean martial art at the World Martial Arts Tae Kwon Do studio on Lincoln Avenue.

Four women from the studio also underwent the testing to earn their first-degree black belts: Sandy Simmons, Carla Gizzi, Tauni Barreras and Pat Bonasera.

At 25, Simmons is the youngest of the women, but she's been practicing tae kwon do the longest.

"I started when I was 15," she says. "My mom made me. It was either that or change high schools."

Simmons says learning the martial art helped her with the problems she was having in school.

"It really helps straighten you up," she adds. "It teaches you respect for yourself and others."

Simmons now works at the martial arts studio.

"It gives you the self-confidence you need," she says. "It's fun, it's a good workout and it's good self-defense."

Instructor Ferdinand Caliente, a fifth-degree black belt, stresses to his students that tae kwon do is a defensive martial art.

"It's something you have in your back pocket," Gizzi agrees.

Barreras also sees another advance to the discipline.

"I want to be able to protect my kids and myself," she says.

To earn their black belts, the students had to learn numerous hand strikes and kicks. Tae kwon do utilizes a lot of high kicks, many aimed at the head, that aren't common in other martial arts.

The black belt test included an essay portion, but most of it was physical.

"Some of us were taped up more than others, but we made it through," says Barreras, pointing to herself and Gizzi. "We're in our early 40s. There's a lot of stuff that's physically hard to do. When I started, I'd watch people do the moves and think, 'No way.' You take baby steps."

While some black belt candidates were older, Barreras and Gizzi were in no way the babies of the group.

"We were testing with 8-year-olds," Gizzi says.

The Willow Glen group trained intensively for 15 weeks before their black belt tests, taking classes at the studio four days a week and getting together for early-morning workouts on Saturdays.

"It's an individual sport, but there's a lot of camaraderie," says Barreras. "Everyone was supportive of each other. It's tough getting up on a Saturday when it's still dark outside. We went because it was what we needed to do."

After passing their tests, members of the Willow Glen group waited several weeks to receive their actual black belts.

"When you get your belt, you never put it on yourself for the first time," Gizzi says. "Your instructor does."

The women who earned their first-degree belts were all back in class the week after their testing to begin learning the necessary moves for a second-degree black belt. While they're building on what they already know, the women say it's like starting over.

"Even though we achieved our goal, we're still on the bottom rung," Barreras says.

"It's like getting to the next level of a video game," Gizzi says.