Where Have All the Black Belts Gone

When Ariana & Alex went for Black Belt, they were two of six: the only girl and the youngest (plus the longest time with Sheryl -Alex). When David went seven months later, he was one of four - all of them munchkins next to him.

This last time, it was just one kid - and it was questionable at times whether or not he would make it. He was light on the attitude and a few other things.

So, it is now March of 2011 and POOF! everyone is gone. Half of the ones who went for BB with A&A no longer attend (Geoff is still around, but he IS Sheryl's hubby, so that's a given) and only one of the kids who went with David comes occasionally, the other two are gone.

Even David has dropped down to two days so he can attend his jiu-jitsu classes on Mondays.

The two girls who are up for Black Belt are going to get their belts and leave - one because she is moving to India and the other wants to try new things.

This is not even counting all those who have dropped out when they get close to red belt. POOF!!!

Sheryl says this is normal, but how do you build a school that way? Our kids want to learn, want to be challenged, but they need more than each other...

Too Much Bad Weather!

Thanks to the abundance of Mother Nature's misplaced weather, there have been no classes since Monday, but since we only go every other Monday, the kids have not had class in a week. And there is no class today.

Bummer.

Guess we are going to have to go on Monday.

BTW, David has been teaching some of his Jiu-Jitsu to the kids. Ariana is doing better than Alex....

Sparring is Back!!!

Last night the class went back to one of the kids's faves:sparring! Not sure why throwing punches and kicks at your friends is fun, but they really enjoy it! The one caveat is that A&A are not allowed to spar one another due to the fact that they do not take defeat to each other very well.

I have seen them spar dozens of time, so I have become accustomed to watching it and rarely ever flinch. Last night, I was actually yelling at Alex to keep his hands up and move (he was standing still, sparring Lizzie) - something I never do, but due to the noise of the nearby squash courts, I had no choice.

Yep, sparring in the squash courts. What else can we do?

Sheryl and Geoff REALLY need to leave Lifetime.

Every Other Monday

Martial Arts is not just a sport, it is an integral part of our lives. Ariana and Alex are both upset because we have quit Monday nights and have let us know their displeasure. Last night they went because they needed to practice what they had learned from Mr. McGilvery on Saturday. They were 2/3 of last night's class - and had an absolute blast. Nothing like private classes!

Well, as long as Mr. McGilvery continues to teach every other Saturday, then they will attend the following Monday class to review what they have learned.

Not exactly what they want (they rather enjoy going 3 times/week), but it seems to have pacified them - for now.

Bad, Bad Tae Kwon Dos Mom!!!

I have been bad. We are no longer attending Monday classes due to the Lifetime idiocy of placing us in the Squash Courts. Wednesday I babysat Sheryl's foster daughter (oh, so cute, so little!)while Geoff took the kids and today, Saturday, I went to the Stamping Convention in Grapevine instead. (David took the kids and came home with the stress.)

Bad, Bad Tae Kwon Dos Mom!!!

I have not been there, but I am feeling SOOOO calm. It is a great feeling.

Does the Chinese Longevity Stencil make up for skipping the classes?