level up...

A few months ago, Luke started taking Karate at a local studio.  Mark and I both feel strongly that our kids should participate in sports.  Mainly for the things that you learn from being a part of a team  And even though everyone now gets a trophy for just participating, there is something to be said from learning to win and loose as a child.  So we have let them try different team sports out to see what they liked.  John is the more athletic of our two sons and has taken to almost all of the sports he has tried.  Luke, not so much.  He really doesn't like team sports, so we let him take a few years off.  

After talking to a few friends and our friend who runs a karate studio, we felt that Karate might be a good fit for Luke.  Our goals are for him to gain confidence, discipline and to learn the achievement of personal success.  It's also a good sport for him, because John has never done karate so there can't be any comparison to his brother's accomplishments. 

Luke recently had his first belt test.  He was super nervous because he wasn't sure what to expect but was excited to pass and move to the next belt level.  The whole family went to see Luke test.  Which didn't really work out, since Grace decided she was unhappy.  So, Mark had to take her out of the studio.  Fortunately, he was able to see the test but not hear what was being said.

As the final part of his test, Luke broke a board with his fist.  It was so great to see all the kids accomplish this.  They all got to take the boards home with them.  John took a video of Luke breaking the board and put it on slo-mo for the actual break.  It looks so cool!

Luke was so happy to have passed and move up to an orange belt.  After the test, we all celebrated with a trip to Rita's for some water ice.  Congratulations Luke, we're so proud of you!