My boys started karate almost three years ago. DadOfAllTrades remembered how well it helped his hyper cousin and requested I look into a dojo (fancy word for karate studio). After talking to an acquaintance who's boy was "trying it out", we took LegoMaster for his first lesson. He had just turned four. Now he is a purple belt at the tender age of six and this mother's heart is overjoyed at his accomplishment.
There is an incorrect belief that teaching a child karate, or another martial art, is a sure-fire ticket to sparring on the carpet daily and a visit to the ER monthly. And with two boys in the house, this could become a problem. However, this is totally a fallacy. Karate is about self control, about defense-not offense, and safety. Our SuperSensei (she is fabulous and I would drive farther than I am driving now to have my boys learn from her) teaches every new student that they are now karate students, therefore they are now on another level. They must only use their skills when someone else messes with them. She burns this point home almost every lesson, and has taught them skills that I have never even thought they could understand.
They have practiced calling 911, from a real phone, to a real operator. (Yes, she pre-arranged this, but what better way to see how your child acts under pressure? They remember about half of what you taught them, by the way, and hopefully it will be the half that helps) They have climbed out of a fire ladder from the second story of our house. They have practiced what to do when they get lost in a store. They have practiced how close to stay to mom/dad in a store. Notice I say practiced, not just heard a talk about what to do. And they know about ten cada, giving them ways to use their side kick and middle block effectively. But my heart rests easily because I KNOW that they can handle themselves under pressure. At least the types of pressure that would make most 5 and 6 year olds crawl under the bed. And I know that pathways for discussion have been opened.
Let me put it this way:
LegoMaster is a quiet boy. His aunt continually says that I am lucky he is not "all-boy". I just think he is a small version of his father, separated by about thirty-some years. He would rather lie on the floor and watch the wheels of some toy vehicle roll, over and over again. The call of outdoors on a bike happens, he just isn't that interested. He once sat for five hours in the same place building a Lego set (with wheels, of course). When he is in a crowd, it is like I am wearing Velcro and he is wearing fleece-ever experience what those two fabrics do in the dryer?? He is shy, an introvert. But when he steps on that mat, he is a different person.
When he was an orange belt, SuperSensei asked to move him up to the purple belt class (Well, Sensei's don't ask, they tell. That is what makes them so respected.) I am thinking I am super proud of my boy for working so hard, and that I am glad he might have found the "one thing he is good at". This class has other children up to three years older that LegoMaster, so I am also thinking that she may be off the mark this time. One class, about three weeks later, SuperSensei is taking the class through a cada drill and asks for a volunteer. My boy confidently raises his hand, goes to the front of the class, and proceeds to lead the class through the cada as if he has been teaching his whole life. I darn near fell off the couch. The same boy who refuses to tell his grandparents how well he did at reading is leading a class of older kids.
Sooner or later I will see this confidence translate into his other lives, at school, at play dates, on the phone with Grandma. But for now, I am comfortable with knowing that he has the skills to defend himself. And that there is one thing in his life that he is "really good at".
Now THAT is what karate is all about.
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