It’s the end of karate (for the kids) as we know it, and I feel (sorta) fine

Nothing lasts forever.

The Beatles. Vacation. Milk.

For us, add to that the kids’ love for karate. I think it’s been about five years now, and they moved up slowly from white belt all the way to black belt. Pretty impressive. We thought they would continue on, learning new skills and techniques like sparring and grappling, weapons, etc.

Nope. Last Saturday, the kids went to their last class at CMB Karate.

After they reached black belt status, their interest in practicing (or going to class) dropped off. As they’ll tell it, they didn’t feel the drive or passion after reaching that pinnacle.

I’m not certain why I feel a bit more bittersweet on this. Josh is dropping band and the trumpet after this year. I feel that karate was a big part of their lives these past five years, and it’s a sign that remnants of childhood are slipping away. They’re growing up, and moving onto other things, whether we understand what those are or not.

Does it mean they’ll never do karate again? No. Of course, they can choose to return to it in the future on their own. For now, that chapter has closed. That’s the end of weekly classes, karate tournaments, and demo team performances (after next week’s last performance of the season.)

You know, maybe it is better this way. It was annoying to constantly force them / remind them to practice. As they get older, they have to make these decisions for themselves, and feel like they want to practice. If you enjoy something, you’ll do it. As parents, we’ll have to continue to learn how to be good guardrails as they explore who they want to be.

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1 Response to It’s the end of karate (for the kids) as we know it, and I feel (sorta) fine

  1. Pingback: Church Picnic at the Ipes | Tales From The Ipe!

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