| Rebecca's Tae Kwon Do Karate |
| December '02: Rebecca wanted to try martial arts since a couple of her friends have been doing it. As it turns out a Tae Kwon Do studio opened up right near us with a grand opening deal that was too good to pass up. Unfortunately at renewal time the price was pretty high & time was limited, so we discontinued it. |
| April '05: Rebecca wanted to try karate since her brother was signing up for it. She's picking up quickly as she is quite disciplined and motivated.
When the junior leader (a purple belt) did not show up to class, Rebecca was honored to be chosen to lead the class! When she called out the exercises for the other students, it was fun to hear the resounding "Yes Ma'am" to her calls(!) That gave her a lot of confidence for the rest of the class, and I have never seen her perform so well. The sensei even complimented her pushups (she was the only one holding herself straight the whole time & above ground on the "downs") & noted that only a couple will be ready to test for their yellow belts.- the test is in a few weeks. May '05: Rebecca tested for her yellow belt a couple of weeks early and, not only did she pass, but she received the highest score of those that tested. The class received their awards on the last day of class. Rebecca was brought up first and again at the end in order to give her a special recognition: she was given an added stripe to her belt to "differentiate her" as a Senior Student. The sensei stated that she exemplifies what he expects in his yellow belts: respectful, hard-working & disciplined. This is a very big honor as she will be asked to assist in classes of her rank & in return, the other students bow to her at the end of class. Click here to see photos from the award ceremony. |
 |
| 12/16/02: Rebecca's first stripes! She broke her first board tonight!! |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| December '05: Rebecca tested for her 3rd degree yellow. At the end of the Awards ceremony, Rebecca received her marks, and she received the maximum score in 2 areas this time(!) on Attitude & Presentation. Click here for other photos |
| June '05: Rebecca has begun a new session, now with yellow & orange belts. She has been placed in the front row with with orange belts, with the rest of the yellow belts behind. She has been invited to attend the most advanced class (for orange belts & up) as the Sensei felt she would "get more out of it." August '05: Rebecca tested for her 2nd degree Yellow. She tested with a group of 4 students: 2 green belts & an orange. As 2 students had to restart once or 2ce, making several errors, only the sr. green belt & Rebecca were given an additional "challenge." The green belt was told to perform the kata backwards; he made a good attempt, but the Sensei stopped him along the way. Rebecca was told to do the kata with her eyes closed. Wow - she did it so well that I didn't even know that's what he'd asked her to do, not until toward the end when the kata turned toward the audience. They are graded 0-5 on 4 areas: Kata, Kihon, Stances & Demeanor. The Sensei rarely gives 5's (last session, no one received a 5 in any area - Rebecca had received the highest score w/ 4's in each area). This time she received 3 - 4's & a 5(!) for 17 points (12 is passing). At the end of class, the students were reminded not to be upset with criticism as it is to help them improve ... Rebecca only received compliments. In fact, Rebecca was stopped in the parking lot by someone from the audience. He said that he never knew she was so good, but when she did her kata with her eyes closed, he was very impressed. At the Awards ceremony, Rebecca received her Yellow 2nd degree patch & stripe. Click here for other photos |
 |
| 03/31/06: Rebecca's 1st Year See bottom entry for latest test! |
 |
| March '06: This was the completion of Rebecca's 1st year in this karate program. The previous sessions had focused on forms, techniques and katas (routines). This final session was on sparring - putting it all together and actually "fighting" with the fellow students (of course they wore protective gear, though). During the review class, Rebecca was pitted against the top student(!) He was pretty big & a blue belt (which is 4 belts, almost 4 yrs, senior!)! Rebecca put up a very good fight - in fact the sensei came over to me at the time & asked me if I was surprised by how well she was doing -- which he never does -- I have never seen him break from the class & talk to a parent, let alone me! The boy ended up winning 3-1, but he never heard the end of it (that he "almost lost to a girl!") The following week, Rebecca tested for her 1st degree orange belt. She was put in the first group of 4, all higher ranking than her; they paired up & sparred then switched until they had sparred with each person. While the other groups took their turns, the rest of the class had to do various exercises (pushups, jumping jacks...) the entire time, so that they would be tired when they were sparring. Therefore, the first few groups had to spar again at the end. The top eight students (all boys except for Rebecca) fought in a "free for all." One of the memorable points was when Rebecca was fighting one boy, the top fighter took a cheap shot at her from behind; she turned and fought him so hard, she backed him all the way up against the wall! The next week was the awards ceremony. The sensei gave the awards from lowest belt to highest. After he skipped Rebecca during the yellow belts, we figured out that he was holding the belt promotions to last. But when he did the belt promotion of a purple belt & then of a green belt, she was the only student that he had not called. Turns out that he had held her to the last because she was being honored in a special way. Not only did she receive her orange belt promotion, but also received: the Sensei Stripe for top student, a "signed" / certificate with the sensei's seal (rarely given), a trophy and an additional promotion to 2nd degree orange belt! WOW!! She received compliments & congratulations afterward from numerous parents & even from one of the adults that helps instruct during the class. He emphasized what an honor it was to receive the sensei's seal & mentioned that she really sparred well - that she "is the buzz." Click here for other photos |
|
| September '06: This session has started off very well with a good review of strikes & technique. Rebecca may miss a couple of classes due to clinics, we'll see. At the Awards Ceremony, Rebecca was awarded last again - she received her Purple Belt as well as the Sensei Stripe! Each time she has been tested for a new belt, she has received this honor :) Click here for other photos |
| June '06: Maybe we should've kept Rebecca going to the TKD Sensei for this session, too. The previous session ran over & then there were numerous classes cancelled, so there ended up not being any test for the session(!) So Rebecca is having to keep her orange belt for another session. |
| YEAR 2: April / May '06: Rebecca's soccer team had speed training at the same time as her karate classes, so had to switch to another class for this session. First we tried Saturday, but then it conflicted with arena. Since Monday clinics ended, she switched again. It was difficult because of a 10 week session, she was only able to attend 3 days of classes (the last one was the review for testing). She missed one for being on vacation, one for Christopher's 1st Communion, 3 classes were canceled, the last 2 will be testing & awards. Also, the new class is Tae Kwon Do; she has been doing Shotokan for the last year. Here are the forms she is working on (1st 3). Rebecca did great with her new Sensei and was promoted to 3rd degree Orange Belt and with the special Sensei Stripe Honors!! Click here for other photo |
 |
| March '07: We were in for a shock at the beginning of this session; our sensei is leaving us! The new sensei teaching TKD, so it is very different. The one good thing, though, is that he agreed to take the upper belts in a separate class so they get more attention. There is less discipline, no exercises to speak of, but many more kicks to learn. At the "review" (he doesn't "test"), Rebecca did well & received 2 stripes. Click here for other photos |
| YEAR 3: April '07: We are getting used to the new sensei. The kids like the games - one is the "Sword Game" where they take on the sensei with long, foam "swords." The 1st to score 2 pts wins. You score a point by tagging anywhere below the knee. The sensei said that if anyone ever beat him, they would automatically become a black belt :) Of course, week after week, he beat everyone, but Rebecca was getting in some good jabs. On the 2nd to the last class, though, she was the first student to even score on him!! At the end of this session, Rebecca was promoted to her Green belt. |
|
| June '07: This sensei likes to do challenges with the kids, such as asking them mathematical questions or the "Sword Game." Well, the day Rebecca received her Green belt, she had a very memorable class. The sensei started off with some math questions which Rebecca was answering correctly then he threw "the square root of 101" at them. She smiled at me, raised her hand politely and answered the question: "10.049875" He was shocked; he asked her again; he looked at me. You see, he had asked that question at his first class back in March - Rebecca has been practicing the answer for months, waiting for him to ask it again(!) Then at the end of class, he asked how many kids play soccer. The 2 girls raised their hands. He probably figured he had these kids beat, so he got a flat soccer ball & asked Rebecca to see how many times she could juggle it(!) Little did he know that she can juggle over 100 times with a decent ball! She did 26 & stopped. The most any other kid could do was 4. The sensei only got 9 off his head & 4 off his legs after several tries, so she had him beat again(!!) :) |
 |
