“Blake, please choke Christopher. Christopher, you will be leading with a punch to the face.” Okay, wow. 

The surreal scene unfolded one winter Wednesday evening with the soft voice of Sensei Sarah Gullickson echoing in the empty chapel basement. Under her guidance, two karatekas, fellow FLBC students, practiced kata­—a series of moves arranged to look like a dance—then bowed to their sensei under the watchful eye of Martin Luther’s hallway portrait. 

It took Gullickson, a first-year student, eight years to earn her level-one black belt in karate. To reach level-two black belt, the student has become the master, offering lessons for a minimal fee. Wax on!