Way to go BLAINE!!

Just a little brag on my first born. Blaine had his Blue Belt Exam in Karate this past Saturday. Test day is a big (and usually LONG) deal! He started with a 1.5 mile run, which daddy told me he was "the fastest of all the kids out there". He must've gotten his dad's running ability because it sure didn't come from me!! Then onto 35 push-ups and sit-ups. After that is nothing but Karate for the next four hours. They do all the strikes, blocks & kicks we've learned up to this point. Then Blaine had to break three boards with open hand strikes. He choose ridge hand, palm heel, and chop strike. He did awesome, he loves breaking and is very good at it. Next comes defenses. A defense is a series of 4-5 steps that are used against a pre-determined attack (left, right punch, for example). I can't remember exactly how many defenses there are, but off the top of my head I would say 12-15. After defenses is Forms. Forms are a bit more advanced and usually have 20 or so steps. It's a lot like a Martial Arts dance, so to speak. For Blue Belt there are 9 Forms that need to be performed. One-Steps, which is one person attacking (usually with just a right punch) and the other defending in a few steps, is next. And last comes Kumite, or sparring. The person testing is put up against first one, then two, then three (and sometimes more) people at a time. This is to test not only skill, but also control - especially when worn down. It is exhausting, to say the least.

When Sensei Burke was handing out the belts he called Blaine up and told him "one word, AWESOME. You were the best person out here testing, and you even beat your grandma." Blaine was beaming, as were Matt, me, Nana and Mamaw!

It was a great moment, and Blainer boy, we are very very proud of you! Great job, buddy!