New Blue Belt
Originally uploaded by MikeOliveri.
It’s been 11 months since I first earned my blue belt and left my son in the dust, but he’s finally earned his new rank and he’s wearing it proudly. Friday night he didn’t even want to take it off, as if he were treating it like a new black belt (which tradition says you wear for 24 hours straight the first time you put it on).
Now he’ll be learning his next kata, Anaku. It didn’t change his focus in class much Saturday morning (the kid’s only 6, after all), but you can tell he loved the belt and the congratulations that came with it.
It looks good on ya, little bud. Keep up the good work!
on Nov 17th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Congratulations! I remember how happy I was to finally reach blue belt and start learning Anaku. I wonder if his attention will hold for the entire 15 seconds you’re supposed to hold shin-shin taishe?
on Nov 17th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I just picked him up from school and showed him this. He says thanks!
And his shin-shin taishe is pretty funny to behold. I’ll have to grab a pic sometime. He kind of rolls his eyes around instead of staring, and his snarl isn’t all that fierce.
on Nov 18th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Well he is quite welcome, and you definitely need a pic of that–or a video, to get the full effect of the eye-rolling. Just the thought makes me start laughing
on Nov 18th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Congrats to your son on that notable accomplishment!
I just wanted to drop and say hi. I enjoy your blog and am very impressed by your writing credentials (a fellow writer myself).
Shuri Ryu is derived from Sensei Trias, yes?
on Nov 18th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Thanks, Ikigai! I appreciate the comment and the visit. I took a quick glance at your site as well and I’ll be reading more! I’m always looking for a good martial arts blog.
Correct, Robert Trias founded Shuri-ryu karate. You can find a good overview of Shuri-ryu on Wikipedia. I study at the Academy of Okinawan Karate, which is run by Shihan Joseph Walker, a direct student of Grand Master Trias.