Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Hiiiiiiii YAH!

Last night my baby boy graduated from the Little Dragons program at karate. We missed week before last due to it being the Friday of the VBS program and the Brownie campout and somehow karate got kind of forgotten. Then Sensei called to tell us he would be out of town last weekend. He asked if the boys could pick up a makeup class on Tuesday because they would test on Friday. So we went last night, thinking it was just going to be a regular class, letting them kind of catch up on their side kick. But since that class was testing, he let the boys test, too. They did great. Of course, they've been practicing kicking each other, so naturally they did fine.

Sensei went down the row, adding orange electrical tape stripes to their little white belts, but he skipped Sam. Sam was bordering on panic and devastation at being overlooked. Then he said, "Sam, I've saved you for last because this is a very special night for you." Sam looked at me grinning from ear to ear. I was beaming and yes, I teared up a bit. He then removed all of the stripes from his belt, making him an official white belt, and presented him with his final patch. A year and a half culminated last night with my baby boy moving into a "real" karate class where they free-fight, learn katas and basically get more disciplined. I could've easily started blubbering, but I held back. See, the hormones - they don't control me.

So now we start next Tuesday in the children's cirriculum. I say "we" like I'm one of those those parents. I'm not one of those parents. I just was saying "we" from the standpoint that I will be there and will now have a whole hour of listening to Abby whine that it smells funny in the dojo. Not only does class-time double, but so does price. Plus he has to have a new gi (uniform) and a whole set of pads for free fighting. We're looking at quite possibly $100 in just new equipment for this class. But he loves it and really does want a black belt. So I'm not complaining. Okay, yes it actually would appear that I am complaining. But I'm not really complaining, per se. Just stating the facts.

That boy had better start kicking some serious ass on the playground to justify the cost. I wanna see blood and bruises in return for the investment.

KarateSam3

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad that he'll be kickin' ass on the playground as a first grader instead of as a kindergartner!

Courtney

Hillbilly Mom said...

He's so cuuuuuuute! My smallest boy young'un does not take karate lessons, yet he karate-chopped the little boy behind him all through the kindergarten Christmas Program. That is after he'd been sent to the principal's office --not for the time he punched a boy in the stomach for cutting in front of him at the drinking fountain, or punched the little girl in the stomach because she wiped the table when it was his turn--but for running around the gym and not apologizing to a sub. I'm sure your little guy will use his karate powers for good instead of evil.

smizzo said...

Go Little Dragon! He's lookin' like a lethal weapon there.. :)

Redneck Diva said...

Courtney-Don't y'all kind of rotate your playground duty? :D

Actually, if Sensei ever heard of him picking a fight on the playground he'd have that boy doing pushups until he turned 15.

Jersey- Thanks for sayin' he's cute! I totally agree! I highly recommend any kind of martial arts for kids! It has taught him self-esteem, empowerment regarding some nasty first-grade bullies last year, respect and discipline. Totally worth any money you'd spend. And you can complain to me about the cost and I'd sympathize completely, lol.

Hillbilly Mom-Thanks for saying he's cuuuuuuuuute! Who am I to argue? And yeah, for the most part he uses his powers for good, but when it comes to the evil older sister, sometimes you gotta cross over to the dark side and kick her ass.

Some Girl-Lethally cute maybe!! Thanks for stopping by!

Shannon said...

Sam is getting so big! Tell him Congrats! Brady would love to take Karate. He plays baseball and probably basketball again next fall and everything gets too hectic. My cousin Rayanna takes it, I can't remember what belt she is now though. Sorry I didn't get to talk to you at Ladies nite. I gave you the last $10 card we had in the whole casino, then all these women came over and demanded "their" cards. No one better scream and yell at me next week. :) My night off finally-Brady and I are going to "attempt" to watch Boogyman.

Redneck Diva said...

Shannon- lol, that pic was taken over a year ago! He's gotten much bigger since then!! It was the most recent one I had of him in his gi, though.

I understood about the Ladies' Night thing. I wasn't offended in the least! You're a busy, workin' girl now with responsibilities and everything! Like you had nothing to do before... :)

We....the people

Originally published in The Miami News-Record, July 2020 Everything is different now. I’m not just talking about masks and social distancing...