Originally uploaded by MikeOliveri.
The Midget and I had review night in karate class this evening, and we both earned our orange belts. We won’t get the actual belts until graduation night in a couple of weeks, but until then we’ll proudly wear our three orange stripes. (Yeah, they’re electrical tape, but it’s still cool.)
We’re still officially white belts in our style, Shuri-ryu, but our school, the Academy of Okinawan Karate, breaks it up into white, orange and gold. After gold we’ll be working toward yellow, the first “real” belt.
Still, it’s quite an accomplishment for a five-year-old. The Midget had to learn 6 long punches, 6 stances, 5 blocks, and 4 snap kicks. Now we’ll be tacking on 6 short punches, 3 thrust kicks, and a kata. And that’s all in addition to learning Japanese counting and phrases, the lessons about our style, school & shihan, and the rules and discipline that come with martial arts.
He’s a smart little guy, and I’m proud as hell of him.
on Apr 18th, 2007 at 5:42 am
Conrgats to you both! Woohoo!
on Apr 18th, 2007 at 6:20 am
Congrats to both of you, Mike! I remember how good that first belt felt (back when I could do that sort of thing).