Do it with a kiya! (a.k.a. bloodcurling yell... the concept of yelling being encouraged (at the appropriate time) is pretty novel.
A few weeks ago we decided that Calvin needed a little gender balance in his life. He was the sole boy in a class of girls, and a “boy, boy” at that. He needed pals to rough house with; other boys to be a boy with. But what to do?
It was Jay who had the brain wave: mixed martial arts… for toddlers. He researched and read; I Googled. Interestingly there has been quite a lot of reearch done on toddlers and martial arts, in particular how it helps them with body control and respect of self and others (as opposed to encouraging them to grapple with unsuspecting pals.) The only challenge turned out to be that classes are all for 3 year old and up.
In sparring stance, something he is beginning to master... and part of the family practice at home.
What has proved to be a challenge, until yesterday, was getting the littlest karateka into his gee (white karate outfit.) But the magic factor of being able to show off his outfit to his pals at creche, plus the expert changing skills of one of the brown belt toting teachers, resulted in a perfectly turned out participant. What’s more, he was just about the only one whose belt didn’t fall off.
The second photo ever of Calvin making a fist. The first was when he was about three weeks old!
One response
This looks like a superb athlete! He is so handsome and the outfit is perfect for him. We hope he enjoys this outlet for his pent up energy. Seems like a perfect combination-a super young man and a supervised athletic program. We loved the pictures!