ode to KARATE

Three is the magic age when kids are all the sudden eligible for classes outside of school. Extracurricular makes it seem so serious but I guess that is what they are. I have always assumed it was because people don't want to mess with diapers but I am sure it also has something to do about being able to sit, listen, and follow instructions.

When we knew we were coming to Japan and that Blue would need a good way to use up some of his excess energy on his days off from school I immediately thought of karate. I liked that it was culturally appropriate and I liked that it was all about physical discipline. Blue is very physical but a little lacking on the disciplined side. After a little internet research and some translation help from Graham's coworkers we found a really nice dojo only a twelve minute walk from our apartment. All was going well!

So we show up for the first class and the first bummer is that the parents stay to watch and provide guidance if needed. There is only one instructor so he can't be corralling the one wayward kid the whole time. Which meant that I was a major distraction to Blue. And it meant that the teacher wasn't the authority figure. Another bummer was that he only spoke Japanese.

So the first couple classes Blue ran around pretending to be a dinosaur almost the entire time. The walls of the room are covered in mirrors and he would just practice his T Rex impression. Which, admittedly, is very good.

I was encouraged by the other moms who said it took their kids several months to settle into the class, to listen and participate. One time he ended up with a private lesson when no other kids showed up. And he did so well. Clearly, he knew exactly what to do. But he wasn't interested or patient enough to wait in line and join in with what the other boys were doing. We downloaded Kung Fu Panda on the iPad hoping he could pretend to be a jaguar doing karate instead of a lumbering bracheosaurus. He was into it for a while and would often ask to go to karate. And occasionally in class he would participate. He was a little better when I was bribing him with M&Ms but even that turned sour when all he could think about was the chocolate.

And then he stopped wanting to go. So we have stopped going for now. I had planned to push through til we left for Christmas but I couldn't figure out how I was going to motivate a kid who didn't want to be there in the first place.

In January we are going to try soccer... It is taught by Brits and is a little less structured and controlled. Hopefully a little more fun. Karate might have been too serious for Blue.