I knew this day would come

[Xue Sheng]

It will be TKD.

She is all sorts of excited and can't wait to go back and has been doing the drills she was shown all weekend.

Per the teacher, but I don't doubt he says this to all the parents, she is very flexible (which all kids are) and built for TKD.

However He did not quite expect my answer to the "She can get a black belt in 4 to 6 years part.

Teacher: She can get a black belt in 4 to 6 years

Xue: I don't care about the belts, I just want Her to enjoy what she is doing and learn martial arts.

Teacher: (He really did not know how to respond to that)

I got the impression that most parents are much more concerned about their child getting a black belt than I.

I am to old school I guess, my day in the belt world (Jujitsu and TKD) you could not get a black belt before you were 18 and my days in TKD the youngest black belt I saw was 19...

This is the TKD school that is actually great with kids but I would not recommend it for adults.

 

[Jade Tigress]

That's fantastic Tim! I'm sure she is going to have a blast and I think it's so cool you've instilled an interest in MA for her.

This is just the beginning my friend. Someday she'll be beating up the trees for you!

Please keep us posted on her progress. :asian:

 

[shesulsa]

I have this vision of the exercise of finding her a training hall to be much like her picking out a car ... or a boyfriend ... with you in tow.

Enjoy, Xue!

 

[Xue Sheng]

boyfriend

If he can snatch the pebble from my hand and does not mind living with the thought of one day being beat like a tree.... I'll think about it... maybe :mst:

 

[shesulsa]

I noticed Meg's most recent love interest is now a fan of my martial arts page on Facebook. He'd better be. :rtfm:

 

[clfsean]

If he can snatch the pebble from my hand and does not mind living with the thought of one day being beat like a tree.... I'll think about it... maybe :mst:

Nah... just tell him how packs of Kool's he's worth in prison & then tell him how many you used to get for beanies like him. :headbangin:

If he blinks, maybe. :wink2:

If he doesn't blink, bury him in the backyard.:btg:

 

[Xue Sheng]

Nah... just tell him how packs of Kool's he's worth in prison & then tell him how many you used to get for beanies like him. :headbangin:

If he blinks, maybe. :wink2:

If he doesn't blink, bury him in the backyard.:btg:

:lfao:

 

[Satt]

And how they feel about trees.

LMAO!!! Looking at your avatar all I could think about when you said that is "BRING ME A SHRUBBERY!!!!!!!"

 

[Xue Sheng]

I watched the class.... and you know what...she is more flexible than the other kids

 

[tellner]

I have this vision of the exercise of finding her a training hall to be much like her picking out a car ... or a boyfriend ... with you in tow.

SS, don't scare the old man like that.

Xue Sheng, I'm glad you had the self control to look respectful and enthusiastic. Mentally reviewing exactly how you'd whip the head instructor like he was a red-headed stepchild gives the wrong impression even if you don't say a word.

Come to think of it, this might be good practice for when she does start bringing home boyfriends

 

[Bruno@MT]

Whether you're training your friends or close family, there's a level of familiarity that robs the students of something valuable. Any teacher who's had his or her own child in the classroom can tell you that.

Friends, maybe.

But sons / daughters... maybe it depends on the culture. I have heard quite a few tales that in a traditional Japanese dojo, kids should not expect any leniency, and in fact are treated more strict than the others, just to make a point.

That said I have nothing but hearsay to base this on.

 

[Bruno@MT]

I
I am to old school I guess, my day in the belt world (Jujitsu and TKD) you could not get a black belt before you were 18 and my days in TKD the youngest black belt I saw was 19...

This is the TKD school that is actually great with kids but I would not recommend it for adults.

Most JJ styles I know have an age limit of 18 for BB. Genbukan as well. Imo BBs should have a certain maturity before they get that belt.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Update

She got sick yesterday and the biggest concern was that she was going to miss TKD class, I think she likes it

She is feeling much better today but she made sure to ask the doctor if she could go to Taekwondo class Saturday.... the MD gave the all clear.

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

Very, very epic. I like this kid!

 

[Xue Sheng]

She is still at it and still loving it.

And I think I finally figured out how they work the belts. Although I don't much care about belts I have been intrigued as to how they work it. Since some of the kids that have a higher belt appear to be entirely clueless at times as to what they are suppose to be doing.

The highest level in her age group is a Solid Yellow belt prior to that it appears to be a white belt with a colored line down the middle starting a yellow that working its way to red with about 3 belts in between. After than they get a solid yellow belt and are eligible for the older kids class.

Regardless she is still enjoying the class and still looks forward to going

 

[Xue Sheng]

My daughter still loves going.... But I am not as happy, the more I go the more I see.

There are other MA schools in the area that teach kids but we are locked into a year contract so I will be there for several months more.

This is, and I knew this going in, a big business. They have recruitment drives they try and to get the kids involved in by selling the school to their friends and they have board breaking clinics that they require you to use "their" board which they sell you at the "pro-shop". Also they appear to give out belts based more on time in training than skill.

However I am keeping it positive for my daughter and she is happy with it, so I am happy for her and in slightly less than a year I am hoping she still wants to train MA but is willing to look at the other schools in my area that teach children. There are 2 other TKD schools and one Karate school.

 

[Xue Sheng]

OK... for my daughter I am keeping a good attitude as it applies to her with this TKD School. I am always excited to take her there and she is having a ball.

However, truth be known, I am getting pretty fed up with the absolute greed of the place.

They have different weekly programs that they will not give you a freaking paper schedule for. You need to check the "ONE" schedule they tape to the door every month.

They had "Balloon week" and I had no idea since I did not take her the previous week, my wife did. My daughter gets there, as did a couple other children, without balloons....so what does the school do....sorry, you should have brought a balloon..... Telling that to a 4 to 6 year old is pretty much saying...ok...you go cry in the corner now while the rest of us have fun..... IT IS 3 FREAKING DOLLARS for a bag of TWENTY DAMN BALLOONS and there are less than 20 kids in the class!!!!!!

I understand the need to have money for your business, I understand maybe not wanting to supply balloons every single time but one would think that JUST IN CASE, someone forgot it was BALLOON WEEK they would have a spare balloon or two...luckily another parent brought extras and gave them to the children that did not have them.... The week before...STAFF WEEK....I did not know about that one either.... no big deal...oh wait..YOU HAVE TO BUY OUR OFFICIAL STAFF!!!

I am about one class away from making this an issue with the head of the school, asking for my money back and taking her to another school that is MORE concerned about the students than $$$$$$$$.

However my wife is rather good a calming me down and is keeping me away from the place for a few weeks. We are both not all too happy about this place and we are both in agreement that if my daughter wants to continue she needs to go to another school and I have located 3 others in my area.

I will say this much, they did actually use the balloons in away to train MA to little children but beyond that the whole thing was pretty annoying

 

[Xue Sheng]

OK I lost it today at my daughters TKD School basically to quote my favorite philosopher “I’d had all I can stands and I cat stands no more” weeks of bad MA and a few other things was about all I could take.

Last Monday, after class, there were some kids playing, one my daughter had played with before. My daughter went over to play and an older girl grabbed her around the waist, picked her up walked 3 feet away, sat her down and then put both of her hands on my daughters cheeks and squeezed and it all happened fast, I got there put a stop to it and then had to tell myself to calm down before I ended up in jail. I complained but by the time I got the teacher the girl was gone so they paid me lip service and I left, enraged but I still left before I got myself into real trouble and make an *** of myself in front of my daughter.

Fast forward to today. She had her first belt test ($35) and I took the afternoon off to get her there. I spent several days telling her she had to listen to the teachers and follow directions and getting her to understand that if she did not do what she was suppose to during the test she was not going to get her belt.

She did everything, even the teachers said so but at the end of the test they said if you did not have 4 attitude stripes you could not get your belt and she had 2.

These fricken things are meaningless. They are based on a sheet they give the parents to fill out and when they bring them in the give them a stripe. I did not even know this was part of the program until a month ago and she has been there since last May. They never told me or my wife anything about it. I noticed this about three weeks ago and asked so I have been filling them out and she has 2 and I left the silly sheet at home for the third today since it was test day.

Well after the test when it was pretty much said she was not getting a belt due to the lack of these stripes I lost it. I told them that no one had told me or my wife about this belt requirement and that based on this 4 stripe requirement why on earth would I come back on Saturday for a belt ceremony just to watch her cry. I then told them I have not told you any of this but I have been in MA for over 30 years and I am very old school and I have never seen anything like this. If she did not pass the test passed on what she was tested on I understand her not passing and if there rules required that she needs for of those green stripes to get her belt and they were not going to give it to her I understood that she would not get the belt but I would greatly appreciate that they make their requirements clear before people pay them the $35 and take the afternoon off work just to get their child here for a test that she obviously has no chance of getting a belt.

End of story they are giving her a belt tomorrow, I am still not happy because that is not really what I was after but it is all they apparently understand… and I’m still angry

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Sorry to hear this Xue hang in there!

 

[Xue Sheng]

Sorry to hear this Xue hang in there!

Thanks Brian.

The place is a belt factory; no doubt about it and the only thing that matter to them is money. I have sat there for months watching kids of various belts spar that are absolutely clueless. I watched a black belt that could not throw a proper kick and have no punching power, it is just plain maddening but I have managed to keep my mouth shut until yesterday. I also found out that my wife has walked out of there a few times in order to not tell them what she thinks. However last week after that older girl grabbed my daughters face she did not walk out. I told them then that I was not the one they needed to worry about… it was my wife they should be very worried about.

But they got the marketing down and they make it fun for the kids so they want to stay and give the parents a nice area to sit in and socialize. And I have to go there twice today and play nice and if it was not for my daughter I do not think I could do it. However she likes it so we will go and I will support her but that is as far as it goes with this school.

Luckily she seems to have taken a bit of an interest in Judo, thanks to her watching a couple of YouTube videos with me. I know of one rather good, but small, Judo school near me that is more interested in Judo than the Olympics and my wife found another that sounds very good and very much non-Olympic and more traditional, which surprised me (here is a shock, they do not advertise.. just like most good CMA schools) However for the one I found she is not quite old enough, but will be about the time the contract ends with the belt factory and for the other it will be a few more years before she is old enough.

The only catch here, at this point, is that if she goes she wants to train with daddy. So I could end up very close to where I started. Started with Jujutsu and I may end up at Judo.... but just between you and me.... I'm not complaining.