Learn Nothing Day & TKD updates

It turns out that I missed the 1st Annual International Learn Nothing Day.  It was held on July 24th.  I’ll have to keep an eye out for it next year.  It will be tough not learning for an entire day.  I don’t know what we could possibly do for an entire day that we would learn nothing new, but I have almost an entire year to try to figure that out.  Do you think you could learn nothing for an entire day?

And now for the TKD updates.  First, I have to say we have been noticing some changes in Tyler since he started TKD and we are extremely happy with them.  His self-confidence is growing, he’s talking with people instead of just having me answer them, his coordination is greatly improved… the list could go on.  Bottom line is that TKD has been a positive experience for him in lots of areas of his life.  Next week is testing and Tyler will be testing for his camo belt.  That means his beginner program is almost up.  Tyler really wants to be a Black Belt, but we told him that he had to prove to us that he was going to be dedicated to TKD before we invested in the Black Belt Club.  Well, he has shown his dedication and now it is time for us to reward him.

So, yesterday, I signed him up for Black Belt Club.  He got lots of great sparring gear (and I got him a bag to carry it all in), some new patches to put on his uniform, an awesome curriculum book that will help us keep track of requirements for each belt level, and a new class schedule that will start on the 11th (testing is on the 7th.)  His new regular class time is Mon & Wed 5-6pm.  There are also 2 classes on Sat mornings, when there isn’t a tournament.  Those classes are Forms & Weapons and Sparring & Board Breaking.  These classes provide extra assistance on learning the specific techniques.  Tyler is required to attend 2 classes a week, which are his regular classes and the Sat classes are strongly encouraged but optional.

He also signed up for Leadership Club.  Leadership Club will give him the skills needed to become an instructor, so things like public speaking, working with groups, teaching, etc. are taught.  Tyler says he really wants to train others and before class he has been talking with kids that are just starting out and showing them moves, so this is perfect for him.  Leadership Club has 2 classes during the week.  On Tues they have Instruction & XMA (Extreme Martial Arts) and Thurs is Gymnastics & XMA.  Leadership Club will also allow him to earn points at tournaments, which he really isn’t interested in right now, but his first tournament is at the end of Aug.  He might get really excited about tournaments after he’s been to one.  He always like to hang back and learn more about something first before he gets excited about it.  He also gets to learn another weapon and has to chose between 3 different ones.  I think he’s narrowed it down to the staff or the sword.  The gymnastics piece will teach him things that he can then incorporate into forms that he creates, and he’s excited because then he can be creative.  He also gets to have a new uniform with a different collar and his name on the back to signify that he is a leader.  We’ve decided that since this isn’t required right away, we’ll hold off until he grows out of his current uniform.

We are happy with both of these programs and we’ll be spending quite a bit of time at the TKD school over the next few years.  Tyler is happy and excited so I’m sure it will be worth it.