Tae Kwon Do

Dylan has been bugging me for months to do Karate. I'd heard from other parents how great any form of martial art is for kids, especially boys, in teaching respect and how to follow directions, as well as a way to use up some energy. I tried contacting the local Karate school in the area and had no luck having them call me back with information, so he started Tae Kwon Do instead! I wasn't sure what he thought the class would be like, he's watched the 3 Ninja movies, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so I was unsure if he thought he'd be fighting other kids in class. I kept trying to explain that there would be no fighting, in class or out, but I wanted to make sure he knew that for sure prior to signing him up.

Luckily, we were able to observe a lesson and even take a free class before having to sign him up. After watching the class, he was so excited that I had to sign him right up and then the Master (instructor) let him put on his new dobok (uniform) and stay for the following class. It was an older class of kids with yellow and orange belts but he actually was able to keep up and actually seemed like he knew what he was doing, even never having done anything of the sort. The Master kept saying that he had great potential and already had great flexibility and understanding. She's very talented with an extensive martial arts background (including a silver medal at the 2004 World Tae Kwon Do Championships) and most importantly, is great with kids.

He was so happy and excited the next morning after his first class, that when I woke up, he was already up and dressed with his uniform folded on the table ready to go. He kept asking all day long when it was time to go to his class! Being the supportive Mom I am, I even "YouTube"-ed how to tie his belt properly and we watched a video on how to count to five in Korean. He will need to study terms and be able to count to ten in Korean on top of learning his stances, kicks and punches if he wants to test for higher belts. But we have awhile before that will happen. When we got to his first "real" class (the 4-6 year old class), the previous class was still going, but the moment he walked in the door, he yelled out, "Hi Teacher!" and started waving to her. I was glad he was so excited but had to explain why he couldn't just yell to her when she was teaching. I think he really benefited from the one-on-one instruction at the first class so he thinks they are BFF's now :-) He will be going twice a week, at least for 10 weeks, which is how many lessons I signed him up for.

He tried on his uniform for me before his class so I could take his picture.

Punch

Roundhouse kick

They were practicing this jump where you jump up and kick both sparring pads at the same time with both feet. Like a pike jump for any of you former cheerleaders out there. She had him do it again and raised the pads higher since he did it so well the first time!