Chesterfield Inlet (May 19/04) - The latest belt craze among students in Chesterfield Inlet has nothing to do with fashion or snowmobiles.

A group of Victor Sammurtok school students are being taught Tae Kwon Do by RCMP Const. Allan Nickerson, who holds a second degree black belt in the sport.

Nickerson says teachers Glen Brocklebank and Anna Leishman asked him to start instructing students when they found out about his proficiency in the sport.

"Glen and Anna thought it would be a rare and positive experience for some of the students to take a couple of Tae Kwon Do classes," says Nickerson.

"Usually, you only find this sport in larger southern communities."

Nickerson agreed to the request and began teaching four classes per week.

The students are divided into two groups (Grade 9 and 10 and Grade 11 and 12), with each group averaging two 40-minute classes per week.

The sport has become a big hit with Chester youth.

The number of kids showing up for class is still on the rise and there's marked improvement among his regular students.

"We've just had seven students graded for their yellow belt status and three more are ready to be graded.

"Taking part in what is an Olympic sport lets them know they're part of a global community of more than 50-million people learning Tae Kwon Do worldwide.

"They can go to a class anywhere in the world and be welcomed as part of that community."

The students are also taught the importance of respecting their parents at home, and teachers at school, as well as doing their best with school work.

There are six levels of World Tae Kwon Do Federation belts they can work to obtain: white, yellow, green, blue, red and black.

It can take between 30 to 48 months to reach the red belt stage.

Reaching black belt status often takes between three to five years.

Nickerson says his long-term goal in Chester is to have a student at the red belt level, ready to try for black.

"I can't grade a black belt. That would have to be done by our master, Chung Lee, who is in Montreal. He's very excited about this program and is looking forward to someday making a trip to Nunavut to perform a black belt grading to someone in Chesterfield Inlet."