My eleven year old son passed his Taekwondo Black Belt test on Saturday. He had potential problems with the board breaks, since he just moved up a grade and had some problems with the new boards. But he kept his focus and powered right through the boards, and will be awarded First Degree Black Belt decided in a ceremony later this month
Woot!!
Well done, Eric!
Congrats!
So, does he threaten to slap you around if you don’t do his chores for him? 
Just kidding. IMO martial arts are pretty universally a good thing when it comes to youngsters’ attitude.
So I guess you’re well protected when you walk through a lumber yard, eh? 
Seriously, that’s effing well done. Congrats! 
My son is just about to turn 7 and wants to learn martial arts. I was involved with it for a number of years when I was in my late teens and early twenties so I’m trying to find a good school in our area but most of them are piss poor. Either too serious (for a 7 year old boy) or just a romper room for the hyper-active kids.
Well, he might threaten me a bit, except for the fact that I outweigh him by like two thousand pounds; also, I got my Black Belt a little less than a year ago. (Saw the way things were going and figured the best defense…etc., etc.)
Our school is just excellent for kids. The owners really do a great job of making it serious enough for the kids to start learning the discipline, but also make it fun. The kids who stick with our program really pick up on the discipline, and take it into other parts of their lives. It’s very inspirational to watch.
Fortunately, our Head INstructer is also a licensed Sports Physical Therapist, so she is able to also teach old decrepit farts like me without destroying our bodies (which are usually pretty well falling apart on their own, thank you very much)
Quicksilver, I don’t know if it’s the same in every club, but you might see if there’s an ATA (american Taekwondo Association) club nearby. It’s traditional TKD, with equal emphasis on technique, discipline, and self defense; rather than some of the more sparring oriented disciplines. Here’s a link: http://www.ataonline.com/
Congratulations, Eric! Zachlee, you have every right to be proud!
My son (7½) recently got his yellow belt in Taekwondo. He’s working really hard and intends to get his black belt by the time he’s 12. That’s his goal. I will tell him about your son. I’m sure that will encourage him. I love the fact that they stress discipline and acting honorably at all times. My son has learned so much. Ours is an ATA club as well.