It’s been a great spring so far. Gone are the gloomy winter clouds of Texas. The sun is out and summer is upon us. When the kids got home from school they immediately do their homework so they can play outside with their friends down the street. However, when the time comes for them to go to karate class you get the most predictable response ever, “NOOOOOO!” They yell with near panic in their voice. “Come on guys, let’s go!” You say to them. Their response, “No! I HATE karate!” “Really? I always loved it when parents tell me something like, “My kids say they HATE karate.” Do they really? The parents know their kids didn’t mean it. In truth the kids love it. They are all smiles every class. When I hear the reasons, such as they just didn’t want to stop the fun they had to leave with friends to go have have fun in karate class, I understand. Now, if the fun was playing video games or something they could pick up again later, there was no question of the solution. Come to class. But on a warm spring day, with their friends finally outside playing, well, that is a fleeting moment in time with the rare opportunity to happen again. Faced with this, I couldn’t blame them myself, and I know that with our schedule, they could take class a on any day so why not enjoy both!?

More than any other place I have ever lived, people in Texas get spring fever in a way that is almost a compulsion, and rightfully so. The winter weather here stinks. When the weather does finally break, it is so unpredictable that the kids know that a fine spring day MUST be taken advantage of because tomorrow it is going to rain, snow or be so windy that you could accidentally land in the Wonderful Land of Oz. So on these rare days, I would let them get out there and ride their bikes, play ball and just have fun getting dirty in the yard. I encourage all parents to do the same. After all, your kids will only play outside in groups for a few short weeks in the spring. Once summer hits, every kid in the neighborhood will have different schedules and they won’t find the time to play outside. So let them enjoy it when they can. I am saying to forgo all their activities. Absolutely NOT! I am just saying, on occasion, let them have their days! In the martial arts, consistency is a vital key to success. Without consistency, skill, timing and conditioning can be lost very quickly. What I am Saying is that ONE day won’t hurt! In fact, giving the kids one day to get it out of their system can really help on more levels than you can believe. With any activity a child has, you have to know when to just let them unwind, unhinge and be kids. If you are flexible as parents, then the your children can have the best of both worlds, the benefits of the structured activities as well as the freedom to be kids.

That is why our schedule is so flexible. It allows us all to stop, enjoy a great day, and then come to class the next day when it is probably to hot, rainy or worse. Be flexible on what days you come, just be sure you and/or your child are here twice a week. We will be here and ready to keep them on track with their training. There are over 112 waking hours in a week. We only ask that you dedicate 2 or 3 of them to your training every week, what day is up to you.