Like all parents, sometimes I have to figure out how to keep my kid excited about activities that I think are important. There was a point in first grade when she wanted to be home schooled, but we talked her out of it.
I teach karate to a lot of kids. I think it’s a good activity that helps develop kids in a lot of ways, and my biggest challenge is to keep it exciting and interesting and to keep them focused and interested over long periods. Keeping a kid interested in something for 3 months can be tough - but doing it for 5 years can be a huge challenge, particularly when we teach a lot of group classes and one-on-one time is limited. But when I see a class of 50 kids and 45 of them have made a personal commitment to black belt, and have been here for a while, I think it must be working.
Getting it through to my own daughter, though, can be challenging. She’s a busy girl. Her main activity is figure skating, and she’s been doing it for 5 years. She’s really good, and getting better quickly. She also does ballet (ties in with the figure skating) and rock climbing (builds strength and endurance). And, of course, karate.
Betsy is definitely a girl. She tried soccer, but the clothes aren’t as pretty as skating, and she doesn’t like the mud. When she wanted to quit soccer, we told her that she had to keep her commitment to the team and finish the season - and she did. Karate isn’t her favorite activity. Sometimes I have to make her come to class. This weekend, I was trying to figure out how I could explain to her how important it is, and I started thinking about the STUDENT SELF DEFENSE classes we’re doing this summer.
I sat down with her and showed her a picture of Chelsea King, and explained what happened to her. I did a google search for GIRL ATTACKED, COLLEGE STUDENT ATTACKED, GIRL KIDNAPPED and showed her a few links. There are a lot of stories out there. It’s not hard to find them.
And I told her that, while karate can be fun, the important thing is that she be able to defend herself. I told her that she’s going to be on her own at times, and I need to know that she’s got a chance of stopping somebody if she needs to do it. Most adults are pretty defenseless against someone with even a small amount of training, and kids even more so.
I probably have a different viewpoint about self defense because of what I do…but it amazes me when there are big stories in the news about kids getting hurt, killed, kidnapped…and the response from most parents is to do nothing about it. I’ve had parents sitting in the studio crying because their kid is being bullied; and then not show up for class with the kid, because they are too busy. Often, they’re looking for a quick fix, but there is no quick fix. It takes time to develop self defense skills, just like it takes time to develop the ability to shoot a goal, hit a ball, or block a shot.
I also pointed out to her that there are times when she’s going to want to do something in the next few years, like go to the movies by herself with friends, and she’s a lot more likely to get a “yes’ from me if I feel like she can protect herself.
The other stuff - balance, coordination, flexibility, range of motion, confidence, leadership, teamwork - you can get that in a lot of places. Karate teaches all of those, but with the practical application of knowing how to fight. Of knowing how to protect yourself and the people around you. She’s heard me talk about it before, and she’s seen me teach and train her entire life, but I think she now has a better idea of what it means to her, and how it can help her down the road.
Even if it only means that she’s more likely to be able to go to the mall with her friends in a couple of years because I feel better about having her out of my sight.
