Today is officially the last weekend of summer vacation for Heinel. On Monday, school will resume and he will begin his new adventures in 2nd grade. But before we start school, here is what he was up to during the summer.
Since last year, we had been wanting to enroll Heinel to Karate so he can learn martial arts. But we were not successful then because he was so scared of the instructor. I guess he found him intimidating as his voice tends to get loud (but not shouting) whenever he teaches his students. Heinel also does not like the loud music being played during warm up. We thought he will get over it so we enrolled him but even after 3-4 attendance in class, he still has not joined any drill and so we decided to cancel his enrollment.
This year, we tried again but in a different center. I do not know if it is because of the sensai (teacher), or the environment, or because he is more mature now; but on just the first day of class he immediately said yes and was even excited to attend his next session. So since April, Heinel has been attending his karate classes 3 times a week. Every night when we come home from work, he is always very eager to show us what he learned in class!
Time flies when you’re having fun, and indeed, two months have already passed. On the last week of May, they had their culminating activity and assessment for belt promotion. We are so happy because his hardwork paid off and he was elevated to a Junior Yellow Belter! Heinel is so eager to reach the black belt and thus, it means that he will continue with Karate even when school starts. He will have to learn to balance school and Karate but I do not have any doubts that he can do it.
This summer experience is not only educational for Heinel, but also for me. I realized that as much as we want a lot of things for our kids, not all of it is also what they want. They might choose it too, eventually, just like what happened to Heinel, but bottom line is, they have to be willing to do it. Forcing them would only make them resist it more, or worse, traumatize them. Because he loves what he is doing, it became natural for him to want to be better. In two months we have seen a big improvement in his Karate skills. 3 days a week class may be tiring but he is eager to go to class. He practices, he works hard. All the efforts will come from him. As Parents, we can only support them and help them hone their personality and unleash their talents.
To my son Heinel, congratulations! You made us so proud, not just becuase of the Yellow Belt, but more so of the good things that came your way because of Karate; new experiences, new achievement, new friends, greater self confidence. We will continue to support you through your journey to black belt!