Six new Orange belts at our house......

Yesterday was a big day at our house. John, Leah, Jesse, Josh, James and I all received our orange belts in TKD. Since it was our first belt advancement we didn't exactly know what to expect, but over all it was a fun morning. James came home with a black eye (and all the boy pride that goes with that) and we had to deal with the unpredictable emotions that come with AS and FASD. I wasn't prepared for the extreme emotions and weeping over 'giving up' the white belt that one experienced - we are still working that through but I see progress this morning. The other issue was over our first attempt at board breaking. Three were able to do it, two will need more practice and coaching. I didn't try it - as I was doing a bit of coaching through the ceremony - but I was inspired by another middle age mom who broke three one inch boards at one time with her foot....go mama!

Master Griffin showing Jesse how to use a hammer fist to hit the board.

Jesse doing a skip kick with the kamas.

Joshua receiving his belt....this is huge for him to smile for a camera in front of a crowd of people.

Leah had a great day sparring. Here she is with a green belt, she wasn't deterred when she was picked to spar the black belts one-on-one either...go girl!

This is the match where Jim got his black-eye...

Josh just after breaking the board that he kicked....a high point of his day for sure!

The whole promoted class (less me - I'm taking the photos!) I love the fact that this really is a family activity for many of the people involved.

The real high-light for John was being invited to spar with the 'big guys' afterward. He's in white and the guy in red is Pit Bull (or is it Mad Dog?) AKA Pat. He did great and held his own even though he hit the floor hard a couple of times over the course of the day and hit a few splinters with his foot when he broke his board.