Finding the power within

Today (21 June 2016) is the winter solstice in New Zealand this year. I had sort of planned that if the morning was clear I might try to go somewhere to get a photo of the sunrise for the solstice. However, there was far too much cloud cover for that to be much use. Likewise a sunset was out of the question, and for the same reason.

I hastened away from work this afternoon in order to get the boys and take them to the last Karate training session before the grading on Thursday. They were both rather tense in the car on the drive there, partly because the traffic threatened to delay us and cause them to be late. And partly because Kancho had kept saying last week that grading was on the 21st; even though he also said Thursday, and that more often. So they were tense that maybe they were going to be thrown into the grading tonight rather than a last training session.

It was a training session, and they both did well. Before it started (the traffic had miraculously cleared about half way there and we were ten minutes early!) both boys warmed up and practiced some stances and moves by themselves, while the other boys there were busy kicking around a soccer ball. 

In the training session, Mr H stood head and shoulders above even the tallest of the others apart from one girl who is nearly his height. So when it came to having partners, he was usually left out (the girl partnered her mother who has joined in). Just over half way through the session, a sensei who had worked with Harry at least twice before, saw what was happening and extricated him from the group and worked with him for the remainder of the hour.

My photo shows his improved posture, and style. He was much more confident, and more relaxed than I've seen him on previous occasions. At the same time his sharpness of movement and speed was impressive. The extra is Young L seen during the run through of the Kata for grading. He was focussed on remembering the six and then seven more movements. Although a little soft it is easy to see how focussed he was. 

I was so impressed with both boys who are doing well and enjoying the control of their body which they are getting.