Karate class

I'd been chewing on enrolling the 9 year old in karate for a few years now. I know I am crazy to add one more thing to my list of things to do.. but it was a half hour class once or twice a week.. figure a pit stop on my way somewhere.

My reasons for karate was to improve neuromuscular coordination to my younger one. Not that he is dysfunctional.. probably my wanting to get him to be able to hurry up sometimes.

and it may help him stand up for himself when he is pushed. He is too much of a gentle soul..

A mother's protective instincts I su'pose.

Anyway, there are about 3-4 karate schools in the area.. Made an appointment for one since they refused to give me details over the phone. He had an intro lesson on courtesy and some basic taekwondo moves from the black belt student-turned instructor - who couldn't stop yawning the entire 45 minutes.. but S was impressed. He was eager to obey the master..

I was also interviewed as to why I wanted my son to learn Karate.
According to them, Karate helps with getting better grades at school due to the discipline it instils (my thoughts were "better than Ritilin")..
it helps them stay secure since they talk about not putting up with inappropriate behavior from others.. (having gone through the tough talk for cub scouts with S, I am more than happy to give it up to someone else)
It helps the kid get stronger (yah.. that's what I want..)
It helps them stay fit (nothing wrong with that!)
It gives them something to work towards with belt advancement (true)
It teaches them discipline by respoding to a parent's request for the first time, looking someone in the eye when talking etc.. (although I don't currently have a problem with the latter with S, I can emphatically relate to that complaint.. and any help with the former's gotta be good)

So.. do it.. it seems to be the magical cure to all evils..

But I had nagging doubts about their sincerity or their power to influence all of this. I was pushed into signing up that very day for 6 months.. which I resisted. I also resisted the free uniform push in lieu of one free month etc. I was never given accurate pricing, just how much I would save and what my initial check would be.. I got the feeling that this would be quite an investment.

In anycase, I called my neighbor and friend after I got home to ask where she was taking her son.. She warned me against this very place.. they'd recently dropped out after getting sucked in for 6 mo. Fees were set at whim depending on how deep you'd gotten yourself into. Belt exam fees were high (and of course which parent would not want their ward to go to a higher belt).

My insticts were right after all. But S is now disappointed. I thought to myself -what a shame it has to be like this..

I'm not impressed with another spot where a lot of his friends go. I see more brawn and very little discipline with the students. In fact, I feel the kids are much more aggressive because of it.

The place where the kids have gone off and on through the county is crowded -but the price is right.. in line with the amount of committment required from me to push S to practice. Plus it 's some activity even if he doesn't ever get to a black belt. plenty of time for that!

discouraging to say the least.. But it made me realize there is no magical cure. A lesson learned for me..

but looking at the "donut", I can work on the disciple part at home. I should be able to achieve at least 10% of what they are attempting since I have more at stake.