I've been spending a lot of time in airports, so let me give you all a quick tip: despite what you might have heard, TSA does allow knitting needles and crochet hooks on planes. They also allow other knitting notions, but do not, under any circumstances, take your expensive stainless steel mini scissors on a plane, as they will confiscate those. So here's the breakdown: sharp pointy objects that could kill a man are okay, but scissors are not. Just don't challenge it. Smile and apologize, don't try to point out that their reasoning is flawed. After all, do you want to have your knitting needles confiscated, only to discover that your flight is delayed 3 hours? You can always cut yarn with your teeth.
I've been knitting a lot of small things because I'm a "carry on only" kind of traveler, and only take what I can carry in my tote bag. So I've got a lot of baby hats, snugglies, socks and other stuff in my gift arsenal. I've also started on a personal design that I hope to debut this fall--stay tuned on that. It's crocheted and cashmere and it is FABULOUS.
So on to karate....this summer marks our first full year as part of our "dojo" family. Every summer, it holds a summer camp for children who are yellow stripe (novice is the best way to describe a yellow stripe) on up. I kept procrastinating in signing the girls up, strictly for the sheer fact that I had so much travel on my plate that I kept forgetting. So when one of the sensei warned that there were only a few slots yet, I got to work and signed the girls up.
So here's a photo that describes karate camp:
The girls had a BLAST. Seriously, you know a summer camp is a hit when your kids are asking you on the last day if they can go next year. They thoroughly loved it, made new friends, and learned so many new techniques. As someone who is training in martial arts, I really appreciated the instructors' efforts to enrich the students' learning experience. All kids, regardless of rank, learned a kata--that is so significant. You don't learn katas until you are advanced in your training.
As a parent, I totally appreciated the concern they show for every student, and desire for them to learn how to protect themselves out in the real world. I had a chance to stop in and offer help on the last day--and in hindsight, I wish I had taken the whole week off to help, but I was late to the party on that one. On the last day, they had an instructor dress up in full body padding (think of Robo Cop in a sumo suit), who then pretended to entice children into coming with him. This was to demonstrate to the students how to identify "stranger danger" and what to do about it. The instructor in the body armor had it down, with the creepy voice and the grabbing--anyone who has ever experienced that would most definitely have post-traumatic stress after seeing his portrayal of a child predator.
I have to tell you that these situations disturbed me, but I clapped heartily for every student who was able to break away from the situation, running, kicking, screaming, and in some instances, going limp like a rag doll and sliding out of the hands of their captor. I was so proud of every student, and felt so good as a parent knowing that I gave my girls the opportunity to learn how to defend themselves.
I'm probably overreacting, but I can't begin to express my appreciation in how much karate has changed my life, and the life of our family. I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes thinking about it. It's given my oldest daughter the confidence to overcome some of her childhood demons (that's a whole other post), it's given my youngest a chance to shine like the bright star that she is, it's given my husband the peace of mind to travel for work without worrying about the safety of his family, and it's given me so much.
I just can't even begin to describe it. No, wait. Let me describe it. Think of a young girl, growing up in Central Illinois, bullied by classmates. Think of that girl walking into school every day, being threatened and mocked and made fun of for...I don't know, name it--being smart, being nice, having the "wrong" friend. Think of that same girl faking illness on a weekly basis, just so she could go home and escape the hell of middle school. Had that girl had karate back then, she would have been able to stand tall and proud and at least have the guts to stand up for herself and get the help she needed to survive. Well, the me of today wishes she could go back in time and be that girl's karate instructor. Because I'm pretty sure I could transform that girl into a bad-ass. Oh, wait. I have. Mission accomplished! Or at least mission in the process of being accomplished.
A bientot..
