The program’s pretty easy to deal with. The classes just meet once a week, so if kids want to progress they really have to practice at home. And yes, that is the most challenging part, especially for moms and dads with younger students who aren’t necessarily dedicated to practicing even though they want to achieve. Not that that describes MY angels, of course. Hey, what’s that over there?

The yellow belt in their class is the easy one to get. Sensei told them he almost never flunks student on a yellow belt test. Later tests, on the other hand….

Still, I think it does kids a world of good to take some form of karate. For my daughter it’s mostly about self discipline. She’s pretty wild at times. For my son it’s more about confidence, as he has the same kind of nearly crippling shyness that I suffered from as a child. I hope to help him deal with it younger than I managed it.