Taekwondo: the one I never considered

When E first suggested signing M up for taekwondo last year, I didn't take his suggestion seriously. I've never considered martial arts as sport or enrichment option for the boys though I'm aware of its gaining popularity.

I always like the boys to spend more time in sports, but training to excel in a sport requires investment of time and commitment. Instead of letting them dabble in many sport activities and ended up not good in any of them, I wanted to wait it out a little till I am sure they will be able to commit to one or two. Besides, I don't want to schedule too many classes for them in a week, even if they are having fun with them.

After M has settled into his weekly tennis lesson as school CCA and enjoying the sport, the next sport to consider is swimming. But I didn't have much success scouting for potential swim coach/school that will fit our schedule.

Then one day, during a play date with some friends, I noticed to my dismay, how a stick-thin girl was 'attacking' M with very rough moves. They weren't fighting but just playing rough and my gentlemanly boy didn't want to attack back in case of hurting her, so he was simply defending himself by running away. She got more aggressive until I stepped in to distract them.

Perhaps I read too much into it, but I was troubled by what I witnessed.

Two days later, I reconsidered taekwondo and brought the boys in for a trial lesson.

The moment Chip got to the class, he was so excited that he was almost hyperventilating! Haha!

'You mean we can come here to fight?'

'Uh... no baby. Not to fight. But you will learn moves to protect yourself and also it makes you stronger.'

The boys watched with wide-eyed amazement. But over time, I noticed that M was less enthusiastic and refused to even join the trial.

Chip, on the other hand, was sitting by the side of the room and copying all the moves he saw, complete with the loudest 'HAH!' he could summon up. He was just so hilarious to watch.

After some persuasion, M agreed to join and we signed him up for 3 months. 2 weeks later, Chip joined him in the same class.

It has been 2 months and it looks like both boys are enjoying the class. I like it that there are workouts in every session to strengthen their physical fitness, besides learning the techniques. In the process, hopefully, we are also enhancing their social skills, self-confidence and awareness and teaching them about discipline and respect.