Eden's Karate Promotion

Eden had her first tae-kwan-do testing to get a yellow stripe on her belt.  We weren't quite sure what to expect so she was really nervous, and let me just be frank here - I was totally nervous for her! Her self-confidence is so fragile right now!  ha ha  They had to attempt to break a board (which no one in her class could actually do yet).  They did some choreographed kicks and punches, and then there was an oral part of the test where they asked the kids all sorts of questions about what they have learned.  This was the part I think we were both nervous about.  We practiced a lot at home, but she was still afraid she would forget.  She was particularly worried about remembering the word "misuse" when giving the student oath and they say "I shall never misuse Tae-Kwan-Do." 

Attempting to break the board.

This was when she was waiting for her turn for the oral test.  She was so cute and nervous.

As she spoke with the instructor for the oral test, I could only see her back but she had the cutest little nervous sway back and forth as they talked.  As soon as they were done, she spun around with the biggest smile on her face, gave me two thumbs up and skipped back to her seat.  She looked so happy and relieved! Her whole posture and body language was completely different.

She was so excited that she became a little chatter bug and was telling her friend Breck all about it apparently.

It was so cute to see such a dramatic change in her.  She was so happy and excited and she wanted to tell everyone all about it!

Getting the stripe put on her belt!

Her portion of the class - these students all got a yellow stripe.

I feel like putting her in this class has been such a great decision.  There are things (like the jumping) that she doesn't like and has to be pushed, but I have already seen her confidence and strength grow so much.  She was so excited and proud of herself and it was awesome to watch her sense of accomplishment.

Way to go Eden!  I really hope you stick with this!