Chez Wilkes: "Martialing" the Forces

So, I signed the kids up for tae kwon do back in August. To say I did not know what we were in for is a massive understatement.

As you may know from reading my French blog, Elijah participated in fencing when we lived in France. Believe it or not, Peoria has a fencing academy; furthermore, the the Peoria Park District offers summer courses in fencing. So, I considered signing him up again here. But the fencing academy is a good 25-minute drive from here if the traffic is good and the lights cooperate. And the Park District classes seemed pretty rinky-dink. I mean, how much fencing can you learn in six sessions? Plus, we'd have to drive to Peoria for those, too.

Since we've moved back and especially since we found out about the baby, I've made a marked effort to stay closer to home. Our dentist and hairdresser used to be 25-minute drives away in Peoria. Now, they are both up the road in Metamora, a five-minute drive. I've kept our pediatrician and my obstetrician because it only takes about fifteen minutes to get to them, and they already have our medical histories, but I've cut my trips to Walmart back to maybe twice a month, opting instead to buy milk, fresh vegetables, and pressing items at the local grocery, which I can almost see from our house.

With these gas-guzzling non-diesel engines, I'm trying to stay local!

So, when I was trying to figure out what activity Elijah might enjoy for the fall, I remembered that there was a tae kwon do academy right across the highway in Germantown Hills. Furthermore, the owners are Christians and frequently offer homeschool classes earlier in the day for those who were interested. I don't know much about martial arts, but I do know that self-discipline and hard work are two major tenets. So asked Elijah what he thought about learning tae kwon do, and he was very enthusiastic.

Back to August...I called Rhonda Kurtz, who runs the academy with her husband Pete (aka Master Kurtz), and arranged to bring Elijah to a free try-out class. Charlotte heard me making the arrangements and asked if she could try out tae kwon do, too.

Why not?

We went to the try-out class, and the rest is history. Charlotte LOVED it, opting to do tae kwon do instead of soccer this fall. Elijah was more excited about this than he was about fencing. We left the try-out class with two uniforms, two white belts, and a schedule for coming back.

Since then, the kids have jumped into the whole martial-arts thing with amazing aptitude and enthusiasm. They have two classes per week and one private lesson a month. They have moved up two belt levels, earning their yellow belts and official "martial artist" status at the end of September and their orange belts this past Saturday. I understand that they will slow down a bit now, but man! Between testing fees, hand gear, and the myriad other miscellaneous expenses, I'm ready for a break in buying stuff for tae kwon do!

Although, I must say, it has definitely been worth it. The Kurtzes also emphasize life skills and require that the kids do "extra credit" at home in order to earn certain leadership responsibilities and awards in class. For their first extra credit sheets, Mrs. Kurtz recommended that the kids learn to answer us with a prompt and loud "Yes, Ma'am!" and "No, Sir!" (I realize for you Southern parents, this would be a bit redundant, but not so here in the North. It is HIGHLY unusual for children to answer adults this way; it's frequently seen as smart alecky or disrespectful.) So now our kids answer us this way because they want to earn their class incentives.

Here are a few photos from their white belt test...