Princess Imagination has decided that she wants to learn “Karate” (she doesn’t know the difference between the various martial arts, so we just call it Karate for now). We found 3 martial arts dojos that are within 10 miles of our home.
The first Dojo was Mixed Martial Arts school that featured Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. We happened to have walked in between classes. There were two instructors present, as well as lots of sweat and testosterone. The manager was nice and all, but we didn’t seem to belong. Plus, there were numerous tattoos where there should have been shirts.
The second Dojo was a Karate school. The owner was pleasant on the phone. When we arrived, he answered my questions about classes and pricing. He wasn’t as interested in answering Princess Imagination’s questions. At one point he asked her if she has an “off” switch. That was when I started thinking that his “polite” switch got turned off.
The third Dojo was a Tae Kwon Do school. The Master showed us around. We let the children play on the mat for a few minutes while we discussed classes, prices, and my children. The Master then spent some time with each of my children, having them kick and punch his special sparring gloves. He gently corrected their techniques, and was very encouraging. The children were all excited. “Did you see how high I kicked?” was the recurring refrain. He also taught them a few rules of the Dojo, including showing respect for teachers and parents.
Princess Imagination selected the third Dojo. That’s my girl!
No comments:
Post a Comment