Our family karate journey began when both my little heroes Aman and Abhay started putting themselves into the large shoes of Jaden Smith after watching his movie' The Karate Kid'
There used to be a lot of practise of untrained techniques such as punching, kicking and balancing on one foot etc
They became so familiar with the movie that the entire movie dialogue was always on the tips of their tongues
Looking at their levels of interest, we decided to put them into a proper Dojo, somewhere where they could learn real karate. I began my enquiries and decided to enrol them at the Lower Hutt Seido Karate Dojo
They were very excited on their first day and when they met Sensei Ken in their first class there was no limit to their fun..!! Even I was amazed at the way he coached the kids
There was absolutely no pressure on the kids as they enjoyed learning karate while they having fun
This was awesome..!!
They started to like the Dojo so much that they literally waited for every next class
Sensei Ken would close every class with words of encouragement and questions to all the kids
As a parent I found this to be most reassuring
Sensei Ken would reinforce the Dojo’s focus on the importance of family by asking the kids questions about themselves and their families….
Sitting there during class, it has been really touching to hear some of the responses from the young children.
We get to hear what our children think about certain things.
As a mum and as parents we get to hear what’s on the minds of our kids when Sensei Ken asks each child questions like:
“Why do you think your mum and dad are important to you?”
“Why is it important to look after everyone in your family, especially mum and dad?”
“What do you want to become when you grow up?”
Also Sensei Ken teaches the kids to set goals, to stay determined no matter what gets in the way, to keep their spirits high, to work hard and to practise every day
All these things have benefitted my children a lot personally
They are being mentored by one special person and as a parent we only want our kids to be good human beings first and foremost
How different my two children are……Aman serious and quiet, Abhay carefree and boisterous
When Aman started he was much more serious than Abhay and picked things up very fast at the Dojo
Abhay on the other hand was always naughty and did not have much focus and seemed to have the Dojo record for being asked to sit by the rubbish bin when naughty in class
Despite of all my many lengthy talks about his behaviour in the Dojo, he hardly showed any glimpses of improvement early on.
I have had discussions with Sensei Ken about his behaviour and he has always been optimistic about Abhay and said that young boys always take a little longer to adjust to the behaviour required in the Dojo……all he needs is time
I was relieved to be told by Sensei Ken that Abhay was a fun child and a pleasure to have at the Dojo
We have always tried to bring out the confidence and will power that we knew was in Aman and when he was asked to do his first grading we did not know what to expect
We were excited to see his performance in front of so many people on his first grading
This was a big event for us as we wanted to see whether he could successfully overcome his fear and stand in front of everyone and demonstrate his best
Aman succeeded in his grading and it was indeed a time for us to celebrate as a family
Aman’s grading has had a positive effect upon on Abhay and he has started to improve concentrate and efforts in the Dojo. He has shown much determination in trying to get his third stripe on his belt so that he can then be included in the next children’s grading group
But the challenges keep coming….next the Quadrangular Tournament at the South Wellington Seido Dojo
When the Quadrangular tournament dates were announced I asked Aman what events he would like to consider entering…..he selected the Sumo event only and did not feel ready to compete in the other events such as tag, individual kata and team kata
In the lead up to the tournament Sumo was practiced quite a bit at the Dojo and even by Aman at home too, on me….
With the forms completed I asked Sensei Ken to look at Aman’s entry form and see whether he might be good enough to try the other events
Tournament day arrived on Sunday the 7th May 2012
Indeed it was a great event…well at least for me and husband Nag as it was our first tournament experience with the children
Aman was very nervous on the day and even the day before
He was shivering when we stood on the mats of the South Wellington Seido Dojo
Fortunately, the first events started with Sumo, Aman was confident about Sumo and he gave his very best and made the final and placed second in this event
We were so elated to see the happiness on his face and the pleasure of achievement in his eyes
It was worth multi millions to us……
We thought that that was it for Aman…..but no, there was a big surprise waiting….
We were shocked to find his name listed in the individual kata events
Sensei Ken had entered Aman for Individual kata..!!
Honestly I wasn’t sure that Aman would be good enough for individual kata, as he had not focused on kata for the tournament
Every time his name was called to perform his kata he gave his best with strong stances and loud kiai
To our absolute surprise and amazement Aman went on to compete in the final and won first place…..
This is the wonderful level of confidence that Sensei Ken has instilled in his students
All our personal gratitude goes to Sensei Ken for having faith in Aman and his abilities
Both Nag and I felt so proud of his achievements on the day that were on the top of the universe!!!!
We are sure that Aman has gained a lot of positives from the whole experience and will learn to apply these in his young life
We are indeed very grateful to Sensei Ken for having given Aman the opportunity of challenging himself with competition and experiencing his own success
Although Abhay was disappointed that he was not able to compete because of the age restrictions of the tournament he learnt to enjoy the day by positively encouraging his brother and all his Dojo friends by cheering loudly and keeping their spirits high with his humour
He is now confident that he will make his mark very soon if given an opportunity
Our heartfelt thanks go to all the senior students who have been encouraging and supporting not only our kids but all the children of the Seido Lower Hutt Dojo and providing them all with such a wonderful confidence building and caring launch pad for their futures
The Sharma Family
