Tae Kwon Do Ben

Yesterday was Ben's first Tae Kwon Do class. After a quick dash to the mall on Tuesday night for tidy whities (his Tae Kwon Do uniform is all white and I didn't want the red Power Ranger on his underwear peeking through his pants all through class), we were all set.

To say that Ben had a great time is an understatement. He loved everything about it. After class he was full of "Mommy, do you know what?"'s followed by tales of running like a cheetah, kicking the bricks, STAMPS! (Mommy-- Tae Kwon Do guy stamps! On my FEET! Look! 'Cause I have powerful feet.), stickers, and a stripe on his Tae Kwon Do belt. Yes. My little yellow belt is now a little yellow belt with a stripe. if I knew anything about the progression of martial arts and belt colors/belt stripes, I'm sure I'd be even more proud.

His teacher, Miss Pamela, is all about business. As he came in the room, she prompted him to bow and say, "Good morning, Ma'am." There is no waiting area, so I went down to the bakery at the other end of the shopping center and hid out. At the end of class, she said he did very well. For the rest of the day, everything was, "Yes, Ma'am." "Please, Ma'am." "Thank you, Ma'am." how great is that? Except, in true Ben fashion, they were all yelled in a very martial-arts-get-in-touch-with-your-inner-power fashion.

Today, I'm sitting in the car with my fully charged laptop and EVDO card (Internet access) watching class through the window. Call me a skeptical mom, but I was having a hard time believing that Ben was able to control his need to run, punch, kick, and be super ninja in class. But, guess what? He's awesome. I can tell he's having a great time and that he's following directions. Right now, they are standing in a line (quietly. 6 little boys with their hands at their sides. Patiently waiting.) to side kick a bean bag off of some sort of padded sword looking thing. Now they are standing with their legs shoulder width apart and "breaking" foam bricks. When their turn is over, they collect their bricks and bring them back to Miss Pamela (with a bow--- and I'm sure a "ma'am.").

I think I'm having as much fun watching Ben in class and Ben is having in class. Now the only bummer is that there are 6 whole days until he gets to go to Tae Kwon Do again.