When I put this blog on hiatus last November I only expected it to be down for a couple of months. Silly me. I should know by now that anything I decide to do is going to take 2-3 times as long as I think it is. But I’m back and plan (cross fingers) to update this blog once a week again.
Even though I haven’t been writing about martial arts, I’ve still be doing it. Since November, I’ve earned two belt promotions: green belt and blue stripe (6th and 5th gup, respectively). I also joined White Tiger’s Leadership Team, practically as soon as I became eligible at green belt. That means I’m assisting with one white belt class a week, learning how to teach, a big step towards my eventual goal of teaching martial arts. I’m enjoying it immensely and feel almost as proud as a parent when one of my students does really well.
Jay’s own martial arts is coming along as well. He’s managed to reach yellow belt, despite the universe interfering with his belt tests. It took three times before he actually could test, none of them his fault. The first time he pulled a leg muscle the night before the test; the second time a freak snow storm hit the Raleigh area and we couldn’t make it out of his condo’s parking lot, much less get to the dojang. But four months later, he finally got to test and successfully passed.
Dynamo’s story is quite different, though. TKD seems to have lost its appeal for him; personally, I think it’s because he’s reached green belt. The shiny newness has worn off and it’s now gotten hard. He can’t just cruise through classes and belt tests the way he used to and the instructors have stopped giving him unmitigated praise and have started correcting him more. I’m hoping he’ll pull through it.
I know this is the point where it becomes work and that black belt still seems so far away. We have one more year on our current contract and I told him he has to finish that out. I’m hoping by then he’ll be staring the black belt in the face and will chose to continue. But it’ll be his choice at that point. I did tell him that he was going to do something martial arts related–he desperately needs the structure and discipline. If anyone has any ideas on how to keep kids motivated through these middle ranks, please let me know. I’ve run out.
I’ve got all kinds of plans for this blog in 2010. I’ve been storing up post ideas and can’t wait to share them with you.
Tags: belt ranks, children, discouragement, green belt
Yay! Welcome back!
Good to see you back and congratulations on the promotions.
I remember my mother telling that I needed to make the green belt test before being allowed to quit Judo. I hated, hated, hated it.
I was about 10 I think. I can’t talk about the money aspect, or other people, but as far as I was concerned, I returned to martial a few years later; I was about 13 or 14 and switched to Jiu-Jitsu which seemed more “useful” for a year or two (hehe, little did I know — after another long break I took up Aikido in my thirties).
Anyway, my point being that not everybody is made for a life of martial arts. And martial arts don’t have to rule every year of your life. Taking a year off can be ok.
Tricky, isn’t it, with kids? My DD passed her black belt test last year (TKD and MMA dojo), and she’s now a junior black belt/blue stripe with a year to go before she gets her first degree black belt. She was very self-motivated part of the time, and needed some external motivation at other points.
It’s clear that you feel that your son benefits from the discipline of martial arts, and that he should stay with it. What does *he* feel that he gets from it? Is there a way to help him see an internal motivation for going? If not, is there an external motivation that could carry him through the rough patch before black belt looks more reachable — a bribe, if you will? An hour of one-on-one time with you for every hour in the dojo? Or, conversely, an hour of personal time for himself for every hour in the dojo?
BTW, it’s good to find your blog — partly because I think my daughter will love your posts about strong women in martial arts, and partly because it’s been a long time since we were summer camp roommates together a zillion years ago. Good to “hear” your voice again in your posts.
A belated “Welcome Back”!
We have a few teenage students in the dojo that are losing interest in martial arts. Their parents are struggling to get them to attend class. It is not easy for the parents, the teenagers or the instructors. It is my hope that if the teenagers do leave, they will take with them what they learned and perhaps one day find their way back to a dojo.