I will break our beginning into a few parts. So, here is Part 1:
We are a family with 5 kids. As the older kids grew up, I realized that we drifted apart as they got older due to no real common ground. In an effort to find some common ground with the younger kids, we began to search for something we all wanted to do. Martial Arts was just the ticket.
My two boys Dalton (11) and Tyler (9) thought it would be great if we started our Martial Arts journey together and we found a great facility with fantastic Instructors in December of 2007. Our facilty is Tae Kwon Do- USA. Truthfully, I was a bit apprehensive going into the first class, because I was the only adult in the Family class (it was full of children). But my kids seemed so pleased to have me there, that I soon got over that. In fact, now there are a few more parents who have joined their children in the Family class. We also attend the Adult class to complete our training.
We trained together for 8 weeks (usually 2 sessions, 4 days a week) before we tested on our first Pattern and kick/punch combos for Yellow Belt. To say we were excited is not enough......nervous, jumpy, jacked, etc. One of our lead Instructor's (Mrs Wiggins) called the three of us our together to do our first pattern (Chon-Ji) as a unit. It was a blast. My wife took pictures, my three year old little girl clapped & cheered, and miraculously, the three of us did our pattern together from beginning to end. What a moment!!
Watching my boys kick & punch and then recieve their belts was one of the Proudest moments of my life! We are determined to achieve each level together until we reach Black Belt! What a journey this is and will continue to be! My little girl was just chomping at the bit to join us and she got too soon enough!
I urge all families to do this together. You'll have a blast and grow closer than you can imagine possible.
