Last weekend four of our children participated in a Tae Kwon Do tournament. This tournament is a low-key, small, and casual tournament, as opposed to a large and formal one. It is great for the little ones to get their feet wet, and experience competition and some of its formalities.
We have been happy with our choice of physical education for our children for several reasons.
1) We do this together as a family. All the children participate in this sport, and they do not participate in any other organized sports. This creates unity and comradery among them. Also - we are not driving children all different directions to their 'own' activity.
2) The studio we go to is owned by a Christian and doesn't include any spiritual aspects that dishonor the Lord. The atmosphere is very family friendly. We attend morning classes that are set up for homeschoolers.
3) The children have gained a sense of 'physical' self confidence, and have learned many self defense skills. These skills will benefit them for a lifetime.
There is no name calling, swearing, or demeaning by teachers or coaches (like we have heard in other sports...) The overall atmosphere is very encouraging, yet still pushes them to do their best.
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| Kainoa & Koa sit with their division |
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| Kapena & Kili sit with their division |
All four of our kids only competed in the board breaking category. There are other categories, including sparring and forms, but each category is a separate cost, so we went with board breaking.
Koa is up first. He bows in, then tells the judges what 3 types of kicks he plans to do.
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| Koa - first place, gold medal! |
There are four different divisions going on at one time. I was running back and forth with the camera so I didn't miss anyone!
Kili was up next. They surround her with 3 boards. She attempts to break each one.
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| Break! |
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| Broken board is shown to judges. |
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| Kili - first place, gold medal! |
Kainoa was up next. She and Koa did more complex kicks in their division - so boards are set up one at a time.
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| Break! |
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| Break! |
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| Kainoa - first place, gold medal! |
Ran over to get Kapena...He did 2 kicks, and broke one with his hand.
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| Hammer smash with hand |
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| Black belts assisting give Kapena a round of applause |
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| Kapena - first place, gold medal! |
Keoni in training on the sidelines.....
Kapena with Josiah, his best buddy, and Josiah's grandfather - celebrating the "Gold's!"
All four got gold medals! Congratulations to Kainoa, Koa, Kapena, and Kili! And Happy 14th Birthday to Kainoa!
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