9th Kyu Karate Belt Test

Last Sunday my boys and I reached a goal that we have been working towards for 7 months! The three of us earned our yellow belt in Shotokan Karate! I can’t even tell you how proud we all are. Yes, it is a simple yellow belt. But it means so much! It took dedication, lot’s of sweat and hard work to earn that belt.

The belt test was 1.5 hours long and included 301 pushups! We performed katas and techniques to show our skills all while keeping composure. It was extremely hard for the youngsters to focus and pay attention for that hour and a half, but they did it!

Now that my boys have earned their yellow belts, they are so excited about karate. They want to practice all of the time so that they can earn their green belt. Something magical happened when that yellow belt went on because they never wanted to practice previously. They have gained confidence too.

As for me, I can’t stop smiling! When I walked into to the dojo 7 months ago, I never imagined I would find a new sport to love. I figured I would take a few classes and that would be it. Now I have a long term goal of earning my black belt and continuing karate throughout my life. I watched the advanced belt test Sunday which included two young men earning their black belts. I am inspired by their hard work and determination. It was truly an amazing thing to watch and I couldn’t be more proud of them!

I am so enthusiastic about the marital arts and I hope to inspire some of you to give it a try! Do it with your children or on your own. Don’t worry about making a fool of yourself either! I have found that my instructors are patient and expect you to make a fool of yourself!

By the way, I just registered to compete in my first karate tournament in a couple of weeks! Who would have thought? You just never know where life will lead you – but let life lead instead of your fears leading!

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Renae Chiovaro

Renae is a married working mom of two handsome boys. She works as a registered dental hygienist by day and blogs here at How to Have it All by night. She enjoys cooking from scratch, working in her vegetable garden and functional training.