First of all... gosh that hair is long! I'm partial to Will having a really short hair cut (I think it makes his eyes pop) but we've had family requesting we let it go, aaaand we've also been lazy.
That has changed since these pics were taken, so I'll show you his latest 'do soon.
The position in which Will is sitting (above) is called "seiza". It's the traditional and formal way of sitting in Japan and I just love how cute his little feet look when he does this.In this next picture, Sensei "E" is pointing to the Japanese characters of the dojo's name: Shinsuikan (pronounced "Shin-soo-ee-kan"), which means "place of mind like water". The kids were learning the pronunciation and definition.
This class was on January 23rd, but the week before (while I was traveling home from Florida), Will earned his yellow belt in his first "testing" challenge. It was a completely verbal test - not physical - but he was really excited to earn a new belt. Unfortunately, they only had a size 2 and he needed a size 0, so we picked up his new belt after this class instead. Here are some more pictures from the January 23rd class:
In this drill, Sensei was slowly swiping a black wand across the ground twice and they had to jump over it. Then, you can't see it, but Sensei is holding an arm pad for punching and the kids had to throw one punch into the pad after jumping twice.
Our friend Jagger has some mad ups! ;-) Haha. There were three instructors/assistants stationed in different corners of the floor and the kids took turns traveling from one to the next doing this same drill before they changed it up.
Here, daddy is tying Will's new belt on for him. It's actually white with a yellow stripe and I believe the next step up from here is a solid yellow belt. The colored strips of tape are things he earns at each class for behavior, skill and responses to questions. After so many purple tape strips, the kids get to choose a prize from the treasure chest.
If you look closely, you can see that Craig coincidentally has a Shinsuikan t-shirt on in this picture. The symbols are on his left chest area. Craig and I both have a couple of dojo t-shirts from our friend Mike who owns/runs the school.
It's been about four and a half months since Will first started karate and he still enjoys every class. I love that he has this opportunity once a week for some physical activity and educational fun.
And, of course, Craig always asks him to make a "tough" pose. :)
It's funny that I was so against starting extracurriculars before we did this, but now I'm excited for Sophie to reach the age that she can participate in something too. She asks to go to karate all the time and I would love for her to take lessons, but I also think she would enjoy gymnastics and I'm not sure I want to do two activities. So we're thinking about it... but not in any rush.
This class was on January 23rd, but the week before (while I was traveling home from Florida), Will earned his yellow belt in his first "testing" challenge. It was a completely verbal test - not physical - but he was really excited to earn a new belt. Unfortunately, they only had a size 2 and he needed a size 0, so we picked up his new belt after this class instead. Here are some more pictures from the January 23rd class:
In this drill, Sensei was slowly swiping a black wand across the ground twice and they had to jump over it. Then, you can't see it, but Sensei is holding an arm pad for punching and the kids had to throw one punch into the pad after jumping twice.
Our friend Jagger has some mad ups! ;-) Haha. There were three instructors/assistants stationed in different corners of the floor and the kids took turns traveling from one to the next doing this same drill before they changed it up.
Here, daddy is tying Will's new belt on for him. It's actually white with a yellow stripe and I believe the next step up from here is a solid yellow belt. The colored strips of tape are things he earns at each class for behavior, skill and responses to questions. After so many purple tape strips, the kids get to choose a prize from the treasure chest.
If you look closely, you can see that Craig coincidentally has a Shinsuikan t-shirt on in this picture. The symbols are on his left chest area. Craig and I both have a couple of dojo t-shirts from our friend Mike who owns/runs the school.
It's been about four and a half months since Will first started karate and he still enjoys every class. I love that he has this opportunity once a week for some physical activity and educational fun.
And, of course, Craig always asks him to make a "tough" pose. :)
It's funny that I was so against starting extracurriculars before we did this, but now I'm excited for Sophie to reach the age that she can participate in something too. She asks to go to karate all the time and I would love for her to take lessons, but I also think she would enjoy gymnastics and I'm not sure I want to do two activities. So we're thinking about it... but not in any rush.
1 comment:
Way to go, Will!! Love the tough-guy shot. :)
Post a Comment