Grady's Belt Testing

And then we have Grady's belt testing. It's a little more informal than Peter's. Also, a lot more crowded. They have the kids work through a bunch of things they've been practicing, a pattern that they add onto each successive level, make sure their belt is tied correctly, etc. But anytime the kids have trouble, the instructor will help them.

Grady got all "awesome" grades. He remembered all the stuff he was supposed to. He was very serious and stoic about it all. It seemed like he really didn't care for being in front of all the people. I also don't think most of it was challenging for him. He had seven steps to remember in his pattern and he practices them with me and sometimes even with Peter. His next belt only adds one step to the pattern (which he already knows).

He didn't have to break any boards, which was somewhat disappointing for him although we knew beforehand so he didn't get upset. He did all his stuff and said "I don't know" a couple times for questions like "what kind of toothbrush do you have?". I didn't think he struggled at all and he was excited for his new belt, but not quite 100% into it. Right now, he says he likes gymnastics better.

He did get to eat a cookie in the middle of his graduation and he enjoys his friends at Tae Kwon Do. We'll see if he decides he likes it long term or if he stops after six months. I can't judge right now if he'll be into it after the six months are over. His teachers try really hard to get him to smile and engage happily, but he's really shy about it. A week or two ago they were playing Red light, Green light and the goal was to touch the teacher's belt. He would get to her first and stand right behind her without touching the belt. His teacher was very confused and kept taking his hand and making it touch the belt, but he was too shy to do it on his own, even though he had fun and smiled all through playing the game.

Boris got some good "serious face" pictures of Grady... and some "I'm not going to smile too much" pictures. Grady's also got a bit of a cold this weekend so it may be disrupting his enthusiasm. All in all, a good week's worth of work for both boys. Upward and onward for both of them.