Thursday, July 8, 2010

Future Bullies: Take Note

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***

Last fall, Mister Man read The Karate Mouse as we was working his way through the Geronimo Stilton series (a hilarious series about a mouse who is an editor of a paper and has all sorts of adventures with great illustrations).

He immediately announced that he wanted to do karate. And then he showed me what he'd learned from the book - he already knew how to do karate.

Well, he thought he knew how to do karate anyway. He knew about as much as what you'd expect a six year old to know of karate who'd never seen it in person but only seen illustrations in a children's book and read about it. It was pretty cute, but pretty inaccurate.

He let it go, but every once in awhile after Christmas he'd tell me again that he wanted to do karate. With our schedules the way they were (e.g., me working and him having multiple therapies each week), I told him that we'd look into it once school ended. He was amenable to that, but he did continue to bring it up.

Score one for him for not having it be a passing fad. This was truly something he wanted to do. Several kids from his kindergarten class do tae kwon do and have for a couple years. We have other friends who take tae kwon do from a different studio.

I finally decided upon a studio relatively close to us that does a lot of work with special needs kids, something that will make a stimulating class easier for Mister Man. The class meets twice a week, which is a huge commitment (as is the six month contract we sign - ouch!), but after watching it and trying out a couple classes, he really wanted to do it.

Mister Man has officially taken three classes as a Little Ninja. He's pretty proud of what he's learned so far.


He knows his ready position.


And his listening stance.


And horse position (I think that's what he told me it was anyway?).


He learned his punches - at least the white belt ones.

In his second class, he worked pretty hard in his small group with two other children who were also relatively new to tae kwon do. And by the end of the class, he'd moved from having a blank white belt to having three skill stripes on it - for knowing his listening stances, his punches, and positions. I had to explain to him that he will probably never again earn three skill stripes in a class, which he seemed to understand.

This week, we're practicing his blocks so he can earn his next stripe - and boy is he proud of what he can do! He insisted on showing me his kicks, even though he hasn't quite gotten to that point yet in his classes.


Apparently I'm not going to be a soccer mom, and I'm ok with that. Just call me a Tae Kwon Do mom!

12 comments:

Tara R. July 8, 2010 at 8:47 PM  

I trained in taekwondo for almost 10 years, made it to 3rd degree BB and was a certified instructor. I think martial arts is a wonderful sport for kids. Good luck to Mister Man. He already looks like a ninja.

Alexis AKA MOM July 8, 2010 at 10:30 PM  

OMGosh check out that kick I would have ended up on my rear! Way to go Mister Man you're doing awesome, I want to get Cole into it but he wants nothing to do with it. Maybe he needs to read the book :)

WeaselMomma July 9, 2010 at 7:07 AM  

He's adorable! I hope he continues to love it.

Anonymous July 9, 2010 at 5:48 PM  

As more and more kids in my family take Tae Kwon do I am seeing how great change in their behavior at home. I really think its a great activity. Hope he continues to love it! :)

Claudya Martinez July 9, 2010 at 5:59 PM  

Thats fantastic!

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet July 10, 2010 at 8:10 AM  

Wow! Look at that kick! That is awesome that he is taking Tae Kwon Do! :D

Karen July 10, 2010 at 9:11 PM  

I love that he's in Tae Kwon Do! He's just too darling for words, too.

Michelle July 10, 2010 at 9:52 PM  

Tara - I had no idea; that's super impressive. I love it! What made you stop?

Alexis - I know... I can't believe he can do that either. We're working on kicks right now for his blue stripe (he earned the green for blocks!), and he has a hard time doing the ones he's *supposed* to do.

WeaselMomma - So do I. At least for the next six months I'm under contract there!

Patty - Oh so glad to hear that it's a widespread phenomenon. That's what I'm hoping, too!

Unknown Mami - I think so, too. I can't wait until he's really earning his belts.

Sherry - High, isn't it? I sort of wish we had started this sooner.

Karen - Me, too. And thank you. *I* think he's a sweetie, and always good to know others do, too.

Pat July 11, 2010 at 7:32 PM  

The martial arts are great for discipline and focus--perfect for Mr. Man! Congratulations to him for having learned so much already.

septembermom July 12, 2010 at 7:56 AM  

Good for him. Wish I could kick my leg that high!

Mrs4444 July 16, 2010 at 1:13 AM  

He looks like a pro already; what a great experience for him.

Michelle July 18, 2010 at 11:09 PM  

Pat - It is a great discipline, and he loves it. We're already to one more stripe (falling) before he tests for a promotion to a new belt!

Kelly - No kidding. I know I used to be able to in high school but ummm not anymore!

Mrs4444 - Looks like, but WOW you should see some of the kids at the dojo in action. So impressive.

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