Let me go back a little further though. Jordan did a couple of free trials through ATA in American Fork that a friend in my old ward invited him to. But with the class schedule and location it just was not going to work out to sign him up for classes and keep him there.
In August, Jordan started Kindergarten. I knew I was going to have some troubles with him.
Jordan has never had a problem being vocal about his opinion.
Which can be a good thing except...
Well...that was an understatement. By the time the first parent/teacher conference came around a few moms had complained about Jordan's bully like behavior.
I felt horrible.
I could relate.
And I was mortified.
I was mortified because I knew how those mom's felt when their poor little Kindergartner came home and said someone, not just someone, but a classmate was mean to them. Making their child scared, alone and defensive.
I knew this feeling because this happened to David. In fact it happened to David more than once (three grade levels in a row). I would get sad, hurt, angry and defensive for my child. And some times I wanted to just follow my kid all the way through his day at school to protect him.
So what would I do if I was on the other end of the story?
We talked to Jordan, we tried positive reinforcement, we had David explain how he felt when he was pushed, shoved, punched in the face and got a fat lip at school. We even (although I don't like admitting this) tried a guilt trip and put Jordan in the position if he was bullied and kids called him names.
It didn't work...
I mean I wasn't expecting a miracle and I was expecting it to happen overnight...but it had to be sooner than later. And we need to figure out where this aggression with Jordan was stemming from.
So...I talked to my friend at work. Her son became a black belt through this Grand Master she knew.
She took Jordan and I the first night. We walked in and watched the beginners work out for a little bit. Then Grand Master walked up to us and introduced himself. Then he sat down next to me and called Jordan over to him. He looked at Jordan eye level and in a very serious Drill Sergeant manner (no, not kidding) said the following:
I have 3 rules...
He held us his pointer finger signaling number 1.
"This is my Do Jo and I am the boss. And if I am not here, she is the boss (pointing at Whitney, the black belt that works with the little beginners). If you don't like that too bad. There's the door. At home, your mom and dad are the boss-not you."
Then he held up two fingers for the second rule.
"You are never to use what I am teaching here at school or outside of here. And I better never hear about you kicking, hitting or being mean to another classmate in school from your mom, your dad, your teacher or your principal. The minute I hear about any of it I will show up to your school and you, me, your teacher, your principal and your mom and dad are ALL going to have a nice chat."
Then he held up his three fingers for the last rule.
"If you break any of these rules you will write me a 1000 word essay on any subject of my choice. Do you understand?!"
I wanted to grab my kid and run. I was thinking "What the hell did I get my kid in to?!"
Jordan, with a straight face nodded yes as to agree. I wish I knew what he was thinking at that time...although I have a good idea.
But this is what he needed. He needed someone from the outside to tell him his behavior isn't OK. And he needed to know that what he was doing was wrong. And he needed to know that we were all (teachers, parents, leaders) are now on the same page. And he needed to get his negative energy out and learn how to use it appropriately. He needed to learn how to use his words in class appropriately. And I needed to know and learn that I wasn't a bad mom.
I knew Jordan was always going to be my baby child. And since he was just 20 months when we got him, my time with a toddler was limited...and I needed to allow my toddler to become a young little boy who now needed to learn honor, respect and manners.
So here we are less than two months later and he has gone from a white belt to a white/yellow stripe belt.
He had to learn and test on the first 8 forms of Chon Ji, a back kick (donkey kick), left hand knife hand blocks, fold blocks, high blocks, outside blocks, a side block/kick, grab kicks, grab/kick/chops.
Here are some pics of his test...some are fuzzy. Sorry about that. For some reason my iPhone was acting up.
Waiting for Grand Master and getting ready to salute the flags.
This shows a good portion of the sets he had to test on.
Finally...after Jordan stressed for two days wondering if he was going to be awarded to move up or not this happened on Tuesday...
Can you see the anticipation on this kids face? I mean I know it's blurry...but you CAN'T miss it!
He is just glowing with smiles...I love it! He felt SO accomplished!
We love Whitney. She has so awesome and VERY patient with Jordan. She knew our concerns and she has worked really well with him.
I do believe that Taekwondo, when taught correctly and perceived and learned appropriately, can be a very good lesson in self discipline and be a beautiful form.
Who knows if Jordan will want to stay with it. It's is time consuming and can get quite expensive. But for now...it works and we will stick with it as long as he keeps learning.
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