Congrats, Collin!

Here is Collin, getting his second-degree black belt. I had previously asked Sensei whether he was going to get it this year, and he said yes. He said that he would pull them aside one night and give it to the boys who were ready. Well, good thing I didn't dump and run last night, because he did it without warning! Good job my friend Jill had her phone with her....

I'm very proud of Collin for this accomplishment. There have been times where he's wanted to quit, but we encouraged (and forced, at times) him to keep going. Recently, I told him that if he ever wanted to quit karate, that it was fine with me, but that he needed to come up with some other sport or physical activity. He promptly told me that he wanted to stay at karate.

For a little history on the karate style, you can get your black belt when you're a kid (under sixteen in the karate world), and even progress to getting higher up the black belt ladder (there is such a thing as a 10th degree black belt, but I think that's where it stops). But when you turn sixteen, you have to start over from 1st degree black belt. I told Collin this last night, but he still wasn't dissuaded from continuing. For all the nuttiness that being 10-almost-11 entails, I think that shows a bit of maturity. Because if someone told me I basically had to start over after years of progressing through the ranks, I might be a little upset!