Back in the fall, October to be exact, Liam embarked on a new & exciting journey. Here we are at the end of May, and I can’t believe I am just now writing about it. It’s definitely not from the lack of excitement we all have about it. That’s for sure!
After getting a taste of it from a classmate’s birthday party we attended at the beginning of the school year, he began martial arts classes with Victory Martial Arts.
As a family, we really love that while the physical focus is on teaching taekwondo, Victory’s overall emphasis is on the whole well-being of the student. They teach self-confidence, self-respect, and self-discipline. There are excellent character building skills the kids learn that carry over to both home and school. They also teach bully prevention skills, and while we may not want to think about that happening to our kiddos, it’s also a great positive skill for them to build upon.
I tend to call his classes ‘karate’ but both of my boys are usually quick to correct me 😉
Since Liam is under 7 years old, he is in the children’s TIGER program with Victory. It’s a bit of a different belt promotion program and the uniforms are slightly different than the adults. However, this program was created so that students who started martial arts very young wouldn’t progress to black belt at too early of an age, and it also builds upon their listening skills, social skills, and team-work skills.
During his very 1st class, he was issued the white belt. Since then, he has had 3 belt promotions. With each one, there has been both a testing day to ensure he is at the skill level to promote to the next belt rank and then a belt promotion ceremony, where he is presented with his new belt.
We also love that with his rank he earns, Liam is certified with the American Taekwondo Association (ATA). These certified ranks follow him or LIFE, too! So, even if down the road, he decides to stop his lessons, if he starts them back up, his belt rank will remain the same. So cool!
He’s been working hard every week. He goes to class twice a week, and with also starting Kindergarten this year, I must admit that this was both an adjustment AND commitment for all of us.
Liam’s 1st belt in the TIGER program was the ARA belt. He’s currently the BAEOH belt. At the end of next month, June, he will test again, and we’ll soon see if moves up to the next level, which is CHEERI. It’s fun for the kids because each belt rank in this program has an animal that’s associated with it. Ara is a turtle. Baeoh is a tiger, and Cheeri is a cheetah 🙂
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Here’s a few of my favorite videos from his  1st testing….
Liam is such a strong & determined boy. When he broke his arm in February, he didn’t let that deter him. While we didn’t force him to continue class, he wanted to keep going, and his instructors worked carefully with him on modified movements so he didn’t fall behind with his class. In March, he participated in his 1st tournament and earned a few medals. Again, so proud!
We are very thankful to the great staff & leadership at Victory Waterfordlakes! Mr. Johnson & Mr. Valle are amazing, Liam looks up to them very much. We can’t wait to see the skills he will acquire in the months & years to come!
Until next time friends,
Casa de Murphy 