Most days when Ethan has Tae Kwon Do we don't even bother to come in and watch because it's just another practice. But every one in a while there is a special practice and today was such a day. Breaking board day!
Each of the kids were given 10 boards and a sharpee and asked to write on each board one of their bad habits and weaknesses. It took Ethan a while to think of 10 and maybe just a little help from me :)
Then they got to take turns bringing up their boards and "breaking" those bad habits. The boards are really thin and meant to break with just the slightest amount of pressure so no one gets hurt.
But either Ethan didn't realize that or else he just thought it was THAT awesome to hit and punch and kick apart boards. He LOVED it! And definitely was excited to yell "hi-ya!".
And while I realize that it was all a symbolic show of breaking boards and "breaking" habits, it was somehow more meaningful for Ethan to have this physical and symbolic lesson from teachers he really loves and respects and listens to. So having that kind of reinforcement has been great for him.
And while I don't know if I can really say Tae Kwon Do has made all the difference in Ethan growing up this year, I can't say that it HASN'T been a huge part of it. He has just grown and matured so much and he's really stopped being a little kids and is now more of a tween.
There's a new level of confidence in that same happy boy.
And I hope it stays that way. He is such a wonderful child to have and it's nice to see some of those less favorable traits being weeded out.
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