Kids, they never fail to surprise you!!

[mazzybear]

Tonight, before class, we had an awards ceremony of sorts. It was for student of the year, all students from juniors/cadets/adults all go into the one pot and our instructor picks the top 3 with the winner receiving a very large bunch of flowers. I came second to a kid, who to be honest, I'm in awe of. She is 10 but has the potential to go far. She sits and listens and absorbs anything, anyone tells her. She's came up from the junior class and now trains in the cadet/adult classes, her transition has been seamless and everything she does, she makes it look easy, effortless, just naturally talented. Anyway, to the point, she came up to me after class with the flowers in hand and said she wanted me to have them, that I deserved them too. Talk about blown away...... Of course I told her to keep the flowers, that she deserved anything that comes her way after the year she's had (winning first place as a cadet at the national Kata competition, a commended pass in her first cadet/adult grading to name just a few) and that I was honoured to be runner up to her. I actually had a lump in my throat at such a gesture from a kid. I spoke to her Dad afterward and he told me she'd done it off her own back and that she looks up to me and wants to be just like me when she's bigger.

To me, that gesture beats winning a student of the year, hands down. I've not been able to wipe the smile off my face all night at work.

Like I said, kids........ They never fail to surprise!!

Mo.

[Bulltahr]

That's a great story Mazzy, we have several kids at our dojo also, and I watch them train sometimes, some are great!

[mazzybear]

That's a great story Mazzy, we have several kids at our dojo also, and I watch them train sometimes, some are great!

At competition level, for the smaller kids who aren't confident enough to spar, there is a "kick master" event, where the two kids have a Bully Bob dummy each and they just go nuts and beat up on it, the kid with the most varied moves wins. I really enjoy watching that, some of their techniques are jaw dropping for their size.

Mo.

[Bulltahr]

I really enjoy watching that, some of their techniques are jaw dropping for their size.

Mo.

I know what you mean, I saw 2 under 10's sparring in Russia, they bith just went for it, great mawashis too!

[sensei8]

Great story, mazzybear, absolutely great story!!

There's a saying...

"Out of the mouth of babes!", and I feel that this girl spoke not as a child, but more as a seasoned adult without any reservations. Her words would've floored most adults, and me just reading it, was floored as well.

Yet, of all the times that I've been on the floor, I've been fortunate enough to have had those type of kids as my students. It causes me to tear up with pride to have known them, and to have the honor to be their Sensei.

While a lot of adults seem to have an agenda as well as a front, kids seem to not entertain those type of things. Kids are, imho, the most honest across the board with what they say, and again, if I may, kids do say the darnest things; they've no preconceived notions as to what to say, and they don't wear their feelings on their sleeves as adults tend to do.

You should be proud of her, as well as in yourself. But for her to share the honor with you is immeasurable beyond contestation. She looks up to you, and she wants to be like you when she grows up, and that can be a deep responsibility to carry, but I believe that you'll rise to the occasion without fault.

For those instructors that refuse to teach kids, I respect that, yet, if they could experience what you and I've experienced with kids, like what your OP speaks towards, they might reconsider their stand.

I bow to the both of you!!

[mazzybear]

Great story, mazzybear, absolutely great story!!

There's a saying...

"Out of the mouth of babes!", and I feel that this girl spoke not as a child, but more as a seasoned adult without any reservations. Her words would've floored most adults, and me just reading it, was floored as well.

Yet, of all the times that I've been on the floor, I've been fortunate enough to have had those type of kids as my students. It causes me to tear up with pride to have known them, and to have the honor to be their Sensei.

While a lot of adults seem to have an agenda as well as a front, kids seem to not entertain those type of things. Kids are, imho, the most honest across the board with what they say, and again, if I may, kids do say the darnest things; they've no preconceived notions as to what to say, and they don't wear their feelings on their sleeves as adults tend to do.

You should be proud of her, as well as in yourself. But for her to share the honor with you is immeasurable beyond contestation. She looks up to you, and she wants to be like you when she grows up, and that can be a deep responsibility to carry, but I believe that you'll rise to the occasion without fault.

For those instructors that refuse to teach kids, I respect that, yet, if they could experience what you and I've experienced with kids, like what your OP speaks towards, they might reconsider their stand.

I bow to the both of you!!

Thanks for your kind words Sensei8. I think the best thing about the kids, is they remain unaffected by a lot of the politics in MAs these days. They don't care about it, they just want to learn, to train and to have fun while doing it and that's what makes them so great.

My instructor told me recently, that when he first started the club he didn't want to teach kids, this was over 45 years ago, when the majority of clubs were full of adult males. But he soon came to the realisation, that kids were essential to any club if they wanted to be open for any length of time. Jump forward to today and 99% of the black belts in the club started as kids and he's got the longest running karate school in the town.

Last night just cemented my desire to work harder for my Shodan and beyond and maybe one day put something back in for the next lot of kids coming up.

Mo.

[JR 137]

3 things that don't lie...

Drunk people*

Spandex

Kids

Kids speak the truth, without inhibitions. When they see it, they call it. They're not afraid to let someone know they think highly of them.

*Drunk people tell the truth. But people who are beyond drunk often have no idea what they're talking about.

[Alberic Blau]

I always told myself that martial arts are salvation for

children and teenagers.

I wish every single kid on this planet would practice martial arts on a

mandatory level with a goal of them having a black belt by the time they

graduate their countries' high school equivalent.

I'm sure juvenile crime and teen pregnancy rates would plummet to

fraction numbers!

[skullsplitter]

Great story, mazzybear, absolutely great story!!

For those instructors that refuse to teach kids, I respect that, yet, if they could experience what you and I've experienced with kids, like what your OP speaks towards, they might reconsider their stand.

I agree. I'm a grown man but I've met some kids through martial arts that just amaze and inspire me. I see a lot of news stories about kids gone bad, but that just isn't my experience with the karate kids I know. Sort of gives me hope for the future.

[126barnes]

That's a great story.