Liam is now an ORANGE BELT!

Life has been quite crazy since I decided to return to school and towards the end of August I decided to do a crazy thing and add putting my son in Tae Kwon Do on the list.  I am far behind on my talks of all of the benefits that I have seen come from these months of having him in class as opposed to before class.  I know part of it has to do with him turning 4, and coming into his own. 

Nothing could have prepared me for how amazing his Tae Kwon Do instructors have been.  The patience that they have each shown for all of the children and Liam in particular (because let's face it, I'm a little biased).  During this time, Liam has had to undergo 3 testing period, from going from his white belt to his yellow stripe, onto his yellow belt and now be awarded an orange belt and moved from a beginner to an intermediate class. 

Liam has come so incredibly far, and I have seen him blossom as a person.  He shows more confidence, he is more outgoing, and he has learned further references and uses in core discipline and courtesy lessons taught within Tae Kwon Do.

Liam was blessed to become part of the Team Chip of San Angelo group of Little Dragons.  Little Dragons is an amazing (and I'm sure patience trying for the instructors) experience for the younger children age 3-6 to be able to learn the basics of martial arts, as well as the values that come hand in hand in any martial arts training. 

Liam's instructors are amazing in a large part to the fact that you can see them with the children and know that they LOVE what they are doing.  All of this credit must go to the instructors that have helped to shape a large part of Liam's social life skills outside of daycare.  Each of them, Seraiah, Lexi, Kyle and the owner Chip, has had a direct impact on my son.  Liam has learned how to respect them and others and also how to find confidence and accomplishment by working hard at his martial arts skills.

I am so happy that I was able to walk through the door for information about Tae Kwon Do classes, at the exact time that a Little Dragon class was starting and to be whirl winded in (in that special way that Seraiah has) to have Liam try out his first class for free. 

On this journey we have gone through struggles where Liam on his 2nd belt was no longer wanting to go to class.  Even that early on, I had seen what a useful skill and how important this was in his life and I forced him to talk to his instructor to tell them himself and to take responsibility for quitting, although he was convinced to stay awhile longer, he wasn't as involved.  Constant fighting to put on his uniform and come to class on top of all of the other stresses in life had me question whether or not it was worth the trouble.  I wondered if Liam was really this miserable if it was the best thing for him.  I remember the day that I walked in and told Miss Deja that Liam would no longer be coming and we actually drove away as I explained to Liam the finality and the implications of his decision.  I explained that if he couldn't work hard and make an effort and push through even when it was hard than he could quit, but that he would lose the privileges that he had gained from his hard work, to include usage of his computer.  As a four year old mind, I'm sure he didn't hear much other than "No Take Kwon Do = No Computer" but as we were driving home he suddenly yelled "Stop Mom, Go Back, I want to Go" and I told Liam that if we went back, that we would not fight about it again and he would have to continue going the next day and the next week without any arguments. 

Needless to say, I did turn the car around, he ended up going to class that day.  I can't say that he was really into it for at least a week after that, but he found the excitement again and now we have reached a point where sometimes I have had a really long day at work and it is raining outside and I just want to go home and relax and Liam will beg for me to go to Tae Kwon Do because he can't miss class.  It always makes me laugh when I think about how I used to be the one begging him to go.  With his orange belt, he is determined to obtain a black belt like the instructors that he looks up to.  I never cease to be amazed at all of the things that he has accomplished at such a young age.  I know that he is establishing life skills and values that will never leave him no matter what age he is.  We look forward to working for as long as it takes to get closer to the accomplishments that will result in him being awarded a black belt.  My only complaint is the inability to join myself due to scheduling conflicts with adult class time. 

I never been so proud in my life as I am each time he stands there and is awarded his certificate and receives his next belt on his journey to being the best version of himself that he can be.



Thoughts on Technology & Humanity

When we moved from the sword to the gun, did we lose some of our humanity? Is gun use less personal? And are those using guns less skilled and ethical then earlier warriors who used the sword or bow?

In order to answer this question, one must define humanity.  Humanity can be defined as: the quality or state of being humane; the quality or state of being human; the branches of learning that investigate human constructs and concerns; the human race; whereas humane is defined as: kind or gentle to people or animals (Miriam-Webster 2014).  In that sense I would say that no, we did not lose some of our humanity; in some sense you could even go so far as to say that guns became more humane.  Many sword injuries do not result in an instant death or even a quick one, unless through beheading, which usually was not accomplished in one fell swoop.  Killing is still killing regardless of what weapon is being wielded. 

I honestly think that that a weapon being more or less personal has more to do with each individual and their values and beliefs, as well as their cultural and societal values and beliefs.  As a society death has become less personal and valuable.  We may have more humane ways of killing death row inmates with lethal injections, but that involves someone in another room pushing the buttons to activate the series of injections for a quick and low pain type of death.  If we are to take a look at earlier methods such as a firing squad, one could argue the humanity, but one could not argue the fact that it was much more personal to line up and look someone in the eyes and shoot them; whether or not the shooter knew which bullet was the one to deal the killing blow.  I do not see how this is less personable than a sniper.  Never having been a sniper myself, I can attest to those around me in the personal way in which they have felt and relived each and every death that has come as a result of their weapon being fired.  They watch many of these shots and aftermaths for kill assessment through a scope, but they image and those memories never leave them.  The same can be said for Drones, just because they may be classified as a “game” environment, does not mean that if it less personal.  Many people are now being classified as having PTSD from the images on those screens, in a drone situation you are there to watch and get a BDA (battle damage assessment), you can be made to watch helplessly if any bombs go astray or if your own people are being shot and killed by the enemy.  Again, skills and ethics have to do with the individual wielding a weapon, not the actual weapon itself. 

References

Miriam-Webster. (2014). http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humanity