GRRR!

Alanna has started her second session of karate and is working towards her yellow belt this time. She's still the littlest in the class and once again is front and center so that sensei can keep an eye on her.

For the most part she does really well. There are moments when her attention span is stretched, but she tries and even though she doesn't get all of the moves exactly right (the coordination just isn't quite there) she's enjoying it which is what counts. The downside is that mommy has to learn all the moves too in order to practice with her and this time we're working on a striking set which consists of a series of punches repeated to the sides and to the front for a total of 20.

At the end of each class, sensei sits down with the kids and they go over some safety tips and definitions. One of the definitions they covered last time was 'kiai' which is a yell. Sensei asked the kids why a yell was a good idea in karate. The answers were that it scares the attacker and that it draws attention.

My child promptly stood up (visualize a little blonde haired, piggy tailed, blue eyed girl in a black karate outfit, barefoot and smaller than everyone else in the class) and said "Like this!" She took a stance and yelled out "BOO!"

This was followed with "This is also scarey!" She brought her hands up next to her face in little claws and yelled out "GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Then she sat right back down.

I don't think there was a dry eye in the house from all the uncontrolled giggles coming from the other parents.