Belt test day at the House of Champions

This past Monday, my little warrior princess took another step toward becoming a black belt. She tested for a blue belt & passed the test with flying colors! This was the first serious belt test for her. All the belt tests that she had taken, up to this point, were more like tests of memory to see if she remembered all the moves she had been taught. This test, however, put her fighting skills to the test. My princess had to fight 4 opponents, who were all older & higher ranking belts, in addition to being tested to see how well she remembered all the moves she has been taught. Although it was painfully hard to watch my little girl fight, it hurt me most to see how she kicked the crap out of the kids she had to fight. Going to H.O.C. 3 times a week for the past 3 years, & getting to know all these kids & their families, has brought about a feeling of family with many of these kids. I love a lot of them, so it hurt to see them all hurting each other. My fears of having my little girl get hurt quickly subsided though, during the first fight, when I saw my princess bring her opponent to tears in the first minute of the round. This went on for all 4 fights. She kicked and punched tears out of all her little friends. Painful to watch, but my pride was over flowing, as my kid proved to the whole House that she is one tough little girl! After 2 hours of testing, she was exhausted, but victorious in her efforts. She is now a blue belt in Arjukenpo! And this after passing a test to become an orange belt in Kick boxing last week. I am a very blessed, grateful, & proud father. I have the perfect child. :)

Boxing at the H.O.C.

H.O.C. X-Mas party

This past Saturday was the House of Champions Christmas party. The house was packed, when my lil' champion & I got there, as everyone was settling in for a night full of fun, family, friends, food, & fighting! There was a pot luck, that provided a hug array of food, with a line that stretched out the door. We got there right before the "Buffet" opened. After the food, all the people (including my scrappy lil' kick boxer) who were going to be fighting were called to the "bag room" to get ready and, be paired up, for the fights. There were several fights and weapons demonstrations through out the evening, but, the main event for me was my princess getting in the ring for her first exhibition fight. It's hard, sometimes to support my daughter in her passion, since it can involve watching her go through things I don't always approve of. It's not easy to watch my little girl get in there and fight, all out, with older boys. It's hard to watch your kid get socked in the face, even when they have protective gear on. But, when she hits them so hard that they just run around the ring to try and get away from her, it gets a little easier to breath. She fought her heart out and had every woman, and most of the men, in the house screaming her name, cheering for her, and supporting her. Daddy was full of pride (in addition to being nervous and anxious as hell) watching her! But she showed me, her opponent, and the rest of the house, that she is one tough little lady! Here are some of the pictures I took, & edited, from the party....

The House of Champions

My princess recently began taking kick boxing lessons, in addition to the Karate she has been learning. After a couple of months, she tested for her first sash a couple of weeks ago. Another proud moment for yours truly. Especially since, she decided to go above and beyond what anyone expected her to do, and double her work load, on her own. Watching my princess pass that test and get her yellow sash was a very inspiring moment, on the day after my B-Day, that has motivated me to push myself, harder than ever, in my efforts to accomplish my own goals. It has been a struggle for her to adjust to taking the 2 classes back to back, so to see her succeed was awesome! It reminded me that I too (as we all can) can push past the struggles that keep me from my goals and accomplish anything I put my mind to. I am very blessed, and thankful, to have such an amazing little girl to inspire and be inspired by!

My Warrior Princess

Today was the first time my daughter got in the ring and fought! It was a pretty emotional moment for both of us. For me, it was pride, joy, and happiness, to see my little "Amazon" face her fears and overcome them. For her, though, it was just that... Fear! I could see it in her eyes when she asked me to re-tie her belt, before she went in. But regardless, she went in and face her fears and opponent ( an older, higher ranking, girl) like a seasoned warrior. It took her a minute to get over the fear and remember her training. She started by throwing wild punches, with no direction, and taking a lot of punches, all over. But once she got over the fear, and remembered what to do, she started putting the hurt on the green belt she was facing. Her Sensei ended the fight as soon as she started connecting to her opponents face too much. She came back with tears welling up in her eyes, from all the emotion and adrenaline. I asked her why she was crying, and she replied," I got something in my eye". I smiled, wiped the tear from her eye and told her that she had done a great job and that I was proud of her. She flashed a quick smile and went back to watching the rest of the class take turns getting in the ring. After class we talked about it. She admitted she was crying because she was afraid. I then explained to her that that was what made me so proud of her getting in there and fighting, not the fact that she whooped on the green belt, and reassured her that she had done a great job for her first time getting in the ring. She is excited to get back in the ring now, and went straight to practicing her technique after class. I got a badass on my hands! Lol. So I leave you with this... Fear is natural, it's what we do with that fear that determines the depth and integrity of our character. Don't ever let it hold you back!

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
--- Frank Herbert, Dune - Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear