Kyle had his 1st (of 2) private Karate lesson yesterday. I was really happy when Dan offered to give him these lessons, free of charge, to help him get caught up so that we wouldn't need to attend a bazillion "make-up" classes. Between his foot injury followed by getting that awful stomach bug we were looking at multiple make-up classes which definitely would've made our activity schedule crazy.
As soon as Dan said that he would be happy to provide these "extra" lessons for Kyle I had made the decision to work around whatever schedule he came up with. I wanted to make sure, given the circumstances, that the classes were at his convenience.
Originally the classes had been scheduled for Monday and Wednesday at 9:30A. We were hoping that Jim would be able to go to the Monday class, since it's been many months since he last saw Kyle do Karate. Unfortunately I received an email from Dan on Sunday telling me that he needed to change the time to 12:00p, which meant that Jim couldn't make it (nor could Mike). But it worked out just fine for me, especially given the fact that Dan had only scheduled a 30 minute lesson (I had thought it was an hour lesson).
It was really nice for Kyle to be "in the spotlight" with Dan. He responds very well to "one on one" instruction, and he did a fantastic job! In fact, I think this was probably his best performance to date! His focus and balance were spot-on and I could just tell that he was enjoying himself. I think that it was great that he didn't have any distractions at all and it was probably great for Dan too - to be able to really see where Kyle is at with his form. About half way through the lesson Dan grabbed a football and they tossed it back and forth to each other for a few minutes - sort of taking a break from the extreme concentration required in the current routine Kyle's working on. The lesson flew by and Kyle is looking forward to the next one on Wednesday. Since it's only a half hour lesson we're hoping Jim can take him - I know Kyle really wants him to go (he's mentioned it ten thousand times, haha!) so unless there's something major going on at the cemetery, Jim will be able to go.
After witnessing Kyle's excellent performance yesterday I'm convinced that he's ready to test for his Black Belt. The mistakes he made were minimal and he *always* corrected them without needing to be told to - which Dan praised him for a couple of times.
Once Kyle earns his Black Belt - which I have a feeling will be happening sometime next month - I'm not sure what the Martial Arts future holds for him. He's been attending Karate for quite a while now, since he was in Kindergarten! The amount of self discipline and focus required is quite impressive. Learning to "master" the forms and techniques require a constant repetitiveness. I'm positive that many kids give up long before they achieve their Black Belt because so much patience is required. Kyle is one of the most focused children I've ever known. His mind has been set on getting that Black Belt for years and he won't give up until he gets it. However, we will re-evaluate things once he reaches his goal - based on a couple of factors; ultimately the decision to continue on will be entirely up to Kyle. At almost 10 years of age he is definitely old enough to make this decision without needing any guidance from us. I will make it clear to him that it's a cut and dry decision - meaning this is not the type of activity in which I feel he can just "take a break" from. A great amount of practice has always been required and I can't imagine that will lessen (if anything it will get greater!) once he reaches his goal. So he's either in or out. Also, we - as a family - are committed to this particular Karate place until Kyle achieves that infamous belt. Dan has worked with him from the very beginning and ultimately, he'll be the one who presents Kyle with the Black Belt. That being said, should we move (after he gets the belt) and he wants to continue on with Martial Arts, I will do my homework and find a place closer to our location. While all of the houses we've been looking at are located right outside of Rhode Island - no more than 20 minutes away (30 minutes tops!) - they are all in areas in which Martial Arts thrive...Seekonk, Swansea and Rehoboth. But, as always, we'll cross that bridge when/if we get to it.
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