Karate School Update

All summer long Jacob has been going to a local Karate school summer camp.  He LOVES it and we love it too! 

The rules and discipline are very strict but the kids seem to thrive in the structure.  There is a strong emphasis on honor, character and strength of spirit.  And of course respect for adults.  The owner of our school is a strong Christian and head of men’s ministry at his church – and I think it really shows in everything they do.

One way (of many) where it is very different from standard day care is that big kids are around little kids – rather than keeping everyone separate, it is expected that the seniors help train the juniors and provide a good example.  The older high school age kids are simply amazing – when they interact with adults and you see their enthusiasm, manners and confidence, it’s just cool.   I can’t wait to see the long term influence on Jacob’s life.  (for right now I’m just thrilled with “yes ma’am”  and “no sir” and the fact that he looks adults in the eye – mostly)

These pictures were taken right after he took his first belt test to move from white belt to yellow belt.  He will continue his training after school each day.  Jacob will compete in his first real tournament in a few weeks.  He is very excited about this (ask him about it if you have a while to chat! ) and has been very diligent practicing his forms and breaking boards (seriously!)