Tournament

This weekend was the Annual In-House Tournament for St. Jude's. This was the first year Jonathan was able to participate. Last year the tournament was at the end of his first week of Tae Kwon Do and there was just no way he was ready to participate. This year he was super excited to be able to raise money and participate in the tournament.

The tournament was divided by gender and age group. Each participant had the opportunity to participate in three skill areas; board breaking, pattern, and sparring. Since Jonathan is a yellow belt, white belts don't spar, he was able to participate in all three areas.

Breaking his board.

For the tournament they used practice boards but he has broken actual boards. For some reason he was very timid today, probably nerves, and had trouble breaking boards but he did well enough to tie for 3rd place.

Doing his pattern.

Jonathan had been practicing his pattern at home quite a bit and was very confident that he was prepared. His practice and confidence paid off with a 1st place finish.

Sparring.

There were only two yellow belt boys who were participating in the sparring portion of the tournament so Jonathan was guaranteed at least 2nd place. Both boys started out a little timid but once encouraged to go for it Jonathan went for it and came away with another 1st place finish.

Jonathan and his three metals.

I'm so proud of him. He set a goal to do his best and try to metal in all three categories and he met his goal. He was super proud of himself too.

Yellow Belt #2

Ever since Jonathan started Tae Kwon Do last January Jason has wanted to do Tae Kwon Do too. Kids can start classes as young as three as long as they are 100% potty trained. Jason turned three in April but unfortunately wasn't taking too quickly to potty training so despite his constant nagging he was unable to start Tae Kwon Do. When he finally (after 2 or 3 months) realized that not being potty trained was why he couldn't do Tae Kwon Do he was suddenly very motivated to potty train. His mantra became "If I potty train I can to Tae Kwon Do." By the end of August he was 100% potty trained and was able to start lessons in mid-September. Last week he earned his first belt promotion from white belt to yellow belt.

He was super happy.

Jason's yellow belt is different from Jonathan's yellow belt. Because of his age and general abilities Jonathan was able to start right up with regular Tae Kwon Do. Since Jason is so much younger he does a program called Tiny Taeks. This program moves at a slower pace than regular lessons and is specific to younger ages. They learn all the same stuff but have different belt promotions and different requirements. Jason is in the Little Dragon class, which he thinks is super cool! When Jason graduates out of the Tiny Taeks program, about age 7, he will enter regular Tae Kwon Do as a full yellow belt, like his brother is now.

Both the boys really love Tae Kwon Do and we are both very happy that they have such a good outlet for all their boy energy, especially in the winter!

Yellow Belt

In January Jonathan started Tae Kwon Do. There is a school here that provides after school martial arts classes. So instead of going to daycare or someplace else after school Jonathan would go to Tae Kwon Do every day. He has an hour long lesson and then they work on homework or play until parents come to pick them up. It's a fantastic program! If you're in Fairbanks you should check out Orion's Belt School of Self Defense.

Jonathan has excelled at Tae Kwon Do. Its been wonderful for him to have such a positive outlet for his boundless energy. In addition to self defense skills they also teach life skills. We have seen a dramatic improvement in him behavior wise since starting Tae Kwon Do. In February, about a month after starting lessons, he earned his first belt promotion, white belt to yellow stripe. In mid October he tested again and was promoted from yellow stripe to yellow belt. We are all so proud of him!
Looking all serious for the group photo after the test. The serious expression and his stance makes him look so grown up, sniff.

Super duper proud of his accomplishment.